


There's No Game Tougher Than Love

by mindramblings



Series: Follow Your Arrow Wherever It Points [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternative Universe - No Island, Angst and Humor, Drama & Romance, F/M, First Love, Friends to Lovers, High School, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-12-02 23:38:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 47,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11519925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindramblings/pseuds/mindramblings
Summary: "Oh, let me guess. You're not used to people saying no to you." Felicity took her textbooks back from Oliver and slipped them inside her locker."That's...come on. That's totally not it," Oliver quickly objected.She leaned against the now closed locker folding her arms across her chest. Turning back to him, a teasing smiled tugged at the corner of her lips as she studied him with her eyes. "Tell me what it is then. Inquiring minds really want to know."Oliver looked back in Felicity's eyes and instantly knew this girl in front of him was like no other girl he'd met before and he was foolishly up for the challenge.





	1. Part One: Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a series that starts out as a high school AU with sports playing a role in it. It will continue on into adulthood. So without further ado, happy reading! ☺️

**_[School Uniforms - Felicty, Sara & Laurel ](https://www.polyvore.com/untitled_71/set?id=224409057%0A) _ **

Felicity Smoak was the new girl at Starling Prep. Moving from Vegas to what many would consider a snobby town like Starling City should've been somewhat of a culture shock for her, but it wasn't. Felicity didn't get the cliche new girl welcoming either. Instead of throwing her into the fire, she was assigned a "buddy". Sara Lance, a fellow freshman.

In her 'Welcome to Starling Prep' packet she received, Sara's number was included. That was unorthodox Felicity thought, but could see the benefit in it. She sent Sara a text introducing herself. They texted a bit as Sara told her what to expect on the first day of school.

It was no surprise that this school required uniforms. Felicity rolled her eyes at it every time she passed by it hanging in her room. So preppy and stuffy. She sent Sara a text asking her about the uniform. Deep down she was trying to see if there was any leeway she could get away with. Sara wasn't a big fan of the restrictive clothing either, but she was able to live with it because she managed to incorporate some of her own style with it. She suggested that Felicity do the same. The night before the first day of school, heading Sara's advice, Felicity rummaged through her closet looking for ways to make her uniform say Felicity Smoak.

The morning of her first day, Felicity sat in the office waiting on Sara to show up. She pulled at her skirt trying to make sure it stayed in place. The collar of the starched white shirt felt like it was choking her. She popped the top button and loosened the tie a bit. She exhaled deeply at the newfound air flow. There wasn't much she could do to the uniform as a whole, so she decided to accessorize it. Fishnet tights paired with purple knee high socks and combat boots is what she settled on. That was her.

A blonde breezed into the office and quickly looked her way. "Felicity," she questioned.

Felicity nodded and stood up. "Yep, that's me," she said.

"Hi, it's me Sara." Sara pulled her into a surprising hug. "It's good to finally put a face with the name. Sort of feels like we're friends already," she joked. Sara's laugh trailed off as her eyes traveled up and down Felicity's body. "You took my advice, huh," Sara observed out loud. "Cute. Very cute."

"Thanks. This was the best I could manage," Felicity said. She took a moment to see how Sara styled hers and saw that they had similar fishnets. "Nice tights," she complimented.

"Thank you. Don't let the uniform wear you, you wear the uniform. That's my motto. You catch my drift," she grinned. 

"I understand," Felicity laughed.

Before they could leave someone came rushing through the door. 

A slender brunette that resembled Sara walked through the door. "Hey Sara, you left this in the car."

Sara took her wallet from the girl before motioning towards Felicity. 

"This is my sister Laurel, she's a grade above us," Sara introduced them. "This is the new chick I was telling you about, Felicity.

"Hi," Laurel waved. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Felicity waved back.

"I just came to give you that, now I need to go find Joanna." Laurel turned back to Felicity with a small smile. "Welcome to Starling," she said before breezing off.

Sara turned back to Felicity and nodded towards the door. "Ready for your first day."

"As ready as I'll be," Felicity answered as she followed her.

After that first meeting she and Sara hit it off quickly settling into an easy friendship. Felicity never felt like an outcast and eased into a normal school rapport. She soon made her way onto Oliver Queen's radar. 

* * *

Almost two months into the school year and Oliver found himself infatuated with this new girl Felicity. 

Oliver would see her in the halls around school, but still didn't know much about her. Nor had he worked up the nerve to actually talk to her. She was different, pretty and had this aura of intrigue surrounding her. Her hair was very dark almost jet black and there was a purple tint to it. She wasn't like any of the other manufactured girls walking around and that's what made her stand out in his eyes. She was a year younger than him; nor did they have any classes together this semester, so they still had yet to meet. 

Oliver sat down to one of the tables in the courtyard with his head down reading. He didn't notice his best friend walking up to him or calling his name. 

"Queen, are you deaf?" Tommy nudged Oliver as he sat across the table from him. 

"Oh sorry." Oliver looked up quickly and then looked back at the papers in his hands.   
   
"What are you looking at so," Tommy asked. 

"The list of tutors for the school year," Oliver answered. 

"How did you get that," Tommy asked.

"Carrie," he answered. Carrie Cutter worked in the office and she had a bit of a crush on Oliver. He didn't like her, but he managed to swindle the list out of her by complimenting her new hair color. The vibrant red hair was the first thing you noticed when she was in the room.

Tommy shook his head in disbelief as he peered over at the list before snatching it away from him. "How can you be failing already and school literally just started?" Tommy erupted into laughter. 

"I'm not failing jackass." Oliver snatched the paper back and shoved him out of the way. 

"Well why are we looking at this?"

"I'm looking at this," Oliver corrected. "Also, we're in tenth grade now, so I have to really get serious this year, especially with baseball. I still have trouble with math mostly and I'm not trying to let my grades slip and not be able to play." He had passed Algebra by the skin of his teeth last year and the subjects would only get harder from here. He would definitely need help. Can't have failing grades and play baseball. Baseball was priority number one for him. Get recruited by a great college and go pro. That was the ultimate plan.

Tommy nodded at Oliver's explanation understanding his reasonings. Tommy wasn't nearly as serious as Oliver was about being a professional baseball player. His father, Malcolm, wanted him to get involved in extracurricular activities, so when Oliver said he was trying out, Tommy decided that he would as well. It got his father off his back and it got him closer to chicks. Even if he wasn't a star player it was totally worth it for the girls and extra attention at least. He definitely saw it from his friend's perspective though. 

"Understandable," Tommy agreed. 

"I'm looking to see if I know anyone on here and if I can convince Counselor Michaels to let them tutor me," he continued with his eyes combing through the names. Once he saw Felicity's name, he knew she was the one he wanted. She was apparently one of the students from Dr. Harrison Well's global gifted program which is how she came to the school. The school only accepted one student per grade a year. All of this Oliver learned from Carrie while waiting on the papers to print. So that meant Felicity pretty much beat out hundreds of students and was practically a genius; and a genius was exactly what Oliver needed to understand math.

Later on that day at school, Oliver went to Counselor Lyla Michaels and requested Felicity. He got a resounding no from her. Since he wasn't technically failing, he didn't need to be assigned a tutor. She explained that she couldn't just give tutors to anyone that requested them because it wouldn't be fair. There was a system to the selection process. Even if he was currently failing, Curtis Holt would be his chosen tutor. He left her office determined to go one final route.

"Hey Sara." Oliver jogged up behind her as they were leaving campus for the day.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you friends with Felicity Smoak," he asked.   
   
"You mean that goth chick," Tommy asked from the opposite side of Sara.

"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "I mean, I don't know. Is she goth or whatever you call it?"

"No," Sara rolled her eyes as she straightened her back pack on her shoulder. "She's not goth. I mean yeah, she has really dark hair and likes dark colors, but she isn't a crazed I want to steal your soul and give it to my worshipper goth. Anyway, yeah, we're becoming friends. We have homeroom and third period together. She's really cool too." She turned to Oliver with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"I need a tutor," he answered. "And I was looking through the tutors list and saw her name." Oliver would not survive with Curtis. He had P.E with the guy and a front row seat to his personality. Getting through one conversation with him was like pulling teeth. Also, if his tutoring was anything like his athletic skills, Oliver would be in major trouble. 

"Okay," Sara said slowly. "Then why are you asking me?"

"Because I want you to ask her for me."

"What? No," she scoffed. She pushed him out of the way and walked faster trying to get to Laurel's car. 

"Oh come on." Oliver jogged back in front of her cutting her steps off. 

"Ask her yourself."

"You haven't introduced her to us," he objected.

"You would probably corrupt her," Sara countered. "Anyway, it's not my job to introduce you. Your legs and mouth work just fine, why haven't you introduced yourself?"

"Because." He shifted on his feet under her stare. "Sara, just do it."

"You've never been hesitant of making your presence known before. What's the problem now?"

Sara turned catching Tommy's knowing eyes. The realization hit her just as Tommy let out a loud obnoxious laugh. The laugh continued until Sara got to Laurel's car.

"What's going on?" Laurel asked joining the conversation. 

"Ollie's afraid to talk to a girl," Sara teased in a sing song voice. 

"Oh really?" Laurel walked around the car and leaned against it with her arms crossed. "Who's the unlucky chick," she asked with a quirked eyebrow. "Please don't tell me it's crazed Carrie."

"Felicity," Tommy answered. He walked over and hooked his arm around Laurel's shoulders. 

"Oh." Laurel eyed Oliver who was turning all shades of red before laughing. "I can't believe Romeo is scared." She didn't know much about Felicity after their introduction other than she and Sara had quickly hit it off. Laurel would see her around and speak, but really hadn't had the chance to get to know her yet. She was friendly enough and they were cordial with one another. 

"I'm not scared," Oliver objected.

Finally ridding herself of Tommy's arms, Laurel pushed him away with a playful roll of her eyes. "Come on Sara," she called. "Let's go. Remember we have to cook dinner tonight." She walked back to the driver's side and got in. 

Sara opened the passenger door and threw her bag on the floor. Oliver caught the door holding it so she couldn't close it. "Please Sara, I'll owe you one," he pleaded. 

"Fine," she huffed. "Stop begging like a sick puppy. I'll ask her." She shooed him away and grabbed the door shutting it. Laurel sped off soon after. 

Tommy nudged Oliver and nodded across the way to where Felicity was walking out of the building. Her long dark haired framed her face. She tucked one side behind her ear as she walked and talked. 

"She's right there," Tommy continued as Oliver was in his trance. "You could just ask her now."

"No," Oliver quickly objected. "I'll let Sara handle it."

"Pussy," Tommy whispered with a laugh. 

"Shut up," Oliver shoved him. Just then Felicity looked across the lot and Oliver could feel the moment their eyes locked. Oliver knew he was staring but couldn't will himself to stop. Felicity finally looked away saving the both of them from awkwardness. She turned her attention back to the person she was walking side by side and began talking with a smile on her face. 

"Wow," Tommy laughed. His best friend didn't even know the girl yet and was already hooked.

<\---->

"No?" Oliver pulled Sara off to the side of the hallway away from all of the passing traffic. She had just told him that Felicity turned him down. "What do you mean she said no?" 

"Just what I said Ollie," Sara shrugged. 

"Did you even ask her?"

"What? Yes, I asked. She said she didn't think she would be able to fit it into her schedule right now."

"You know what," he shut his locker. "I'll ask her myself."

"Oh now you want to ask her yourself. I hope she says no again," Sara walked away. 

Oliver waited outside of Felicity's history class. He managed to get her full class schedule out of Carrie. The lengths he was going to just to get to this girl. Peeking inside the classroom he could see Felicity. Her head was down in her notebook as she chewed on the clicker of a red pen. She was completely oblivious to him watching her and he himself settled into a trance as he did. As soon as the bell rang out, he slipped inside among the traffic filing out of the room. He spotted her in the back still sitting at her desk and quickly made his way over. "Hi, Felicity Smoak? I'm Oliver Queen."

Felicity looked up to see Oliver standing before her hunched over with his hands griping the edge of her desk. The bell had only rung a few seconds ago and she wondered just how did he manage to get inside so quickly. 

She tucked the pen that had been hanging from her lips behind her ear. "I know who you are," she simply said before standing. She grabbed her bag off the floor and began gathering her books on her desk. Oliver stood in front of her desk not moving and just staring. "Can I help you," she asked slowly. 

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you. Let me get those for you." 

"I'm only heading to my locker. You don't..." 

Before she could fully object, Oliver picked her books up and cradled them in his arms. "I got it," he said. "Just lead the way and I'll follow."

"Alright," she eyed him warily. 

They walked silently amongst the noisy traffic to her locker until he finally asked the questioned that had been nagging him. "Why did you say no to Sara," he asked. 

She stopped at her locker quickly doing her combination and popping the door open. The noise had quieted around them and the number of people slowly dwindled down. " "Oh, let me guess. You're not used to people saying no to you." Felicity took her textbooks back from Oliver and slipped them inside her locker.

"That's...come on. That's totally not it," Oliver quickly objected.

She leaned against the now closed locker folding her arms across her chest. Turning back to him, a teasing smiled tugged at the corner of her lips as she studied him with her eyes. "Tell me what it is then. Inquiring minds really want to know."

Oliver looked back in Felicity's eyes and instantly knew this girl in front of him was like no other girl he'd met before and he was foolishly up for the challenge.

"Well I'm a baseball player," he started. 

Felicity nodded. That much she already knew. Star player Oliver Queen was shouted through the school halls and his uniform clearly proved that.  

"I have to keep a certain grade average to keep playing," he continued. "I do alright on my own, but math is not my friend at all. I tried to manage on my own, but it's only getting harder and I want to avoid failing, so I really need your help."

Felicity listened to his pleading pitch not adding a word. 

"Please," he started whining. "They assigned me Curtis, but I can't even hold a conversation with him. Learning from him will be so much worse."

"And you think you would fare better with me because I'm a girl?"

"Yes. Wait no," he quickly corrected himself. "That was definitely a trick question," he mumbled to himself. 

"Yes and you failed miserably."

"I didn't mean that you would be easier because you're a girl. What I meant was that..." Shit he was totally fumbling this. "You're the smartest person in this school." He finally made a coherent sentence. "So, I figured if I have the best helping me, I would quickly start excelling."

"I know what you're saying. I'm just enjoying seeing you squirm," she smirked. 

Oliver let out a sighing laugh of relief and could feel his heart ramming against his chest. He never got like this and was usually good under pressure. Something was different about this girl though. 

"So, is your answer still no? I'm chancing being late to practice for you. You know what happens if I'm late? Coach Diggle will make me run suicides for fifteen minutes straight."

"Suicides," she questioned warily. "I have no idea what that is."

"They're technically called wind sprints, but the slang term is suicide because they're excruciating as hell and well you catch my drift. I'm literally putting my body on the line for you."

A smile crept up at the corner of her mouth and Oliver could see her resolve slowly softening. He was getting somewhere now. The pleading and charm was working.

She placed her hand on her hip before looking him up and down. "Alright. And what would I get out of this arrangement," she asked. 

Oliver thought for a moment as Felicity held her gaze on him. He almost got distracted looking in her eyes. One quick glance at her would have you believing her eyes were dark. But this close in her space, you could clearly see the bright blue orbits accentuated by the mascara. "Uh," he began to get flustered. He shut his mouth and cleared his throat gathering himself. "I can get my parents to pay you on the side, the school wouldn't even have to know. Raisa, our cook is the best, I'll have her make you whatever you want. We have a great pool and I have a little sister."

Felicity laughed a deep laugh. She didn't expect Oliver to offer her all those perks and the last statement threw her for a loop. "A little sister? What does that even mean?"

"Thea, that's her name. She's six and a lot of fun to be around."

Felicity studied him a little while longer. Finally done watching him squirm, even though it was quite enjoyable, she put him out of his misery. She pulled a notebook from her locker and grabbed the red pen from earlier. Tearing a small piece of paper out it, she scribbled her phone number down. She folded it up and held it out to him. "Here you go. Call or text me later and we can work out the details."

Oliver happily took the folded piece of paper from her silently reading the number. Felicity put her things back up and closed her locker with a smile. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Oliver could see the interesting piercing she had there. It was something he'd never seen before. Everything about her was so differnt, yet intriguing. "Shouldn't you be getting to practice," she whispered before walking off. 

"Yes. See you later," he yelled behind her retreating figure. "Thank you again!" He tucked the paper securely inside his uniform. He got to practice late of course and after Coach Diggle yelled at him about being the captain and leading by example, suicide sprints ensued. He didn't even mind the drills this time because as he ran, he could feel the note against his chest and with each lap the smile stretched wider and wider across his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Let me hear(read) all your thoughts, questions and anything else. xoxoxo


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support on the first chapter. So here's the next part, happy reading. ☺️

 

**_[Big Belly Burger - Felicity & Oliver](https://www.polyvore.com/untitled_70/set?id=225255294)_**

"Oliver!"

He cursed to himself as he turned around slowly to face his mother. He dropped his hand from the doorknob slipping it into his pocket. 

"Where are you going this early on a Saturday," she questioned. "And you don't have practice today."

"Mom, it’s like three o'clock. Not exactly early."

Moira studied Oliver's clothing. He didn't have his typical sweats or gym clothes on. When he's dressed nice, he usually had a reason to. 

"For you it is, especially dressed like that," she said. She walked closer to him awaiting an answer. 

"It's just clothes," he shrugged. He began to toss his keys in his hands as Moira watched him intently. 

"What's her name?"

"Mom," he sighed. He scrubbed his hand across the back of his neck feeling heat rise there. "It's not what you think."

"Name?"

"Felicity Smoak."

That name didn't ring a bell. 

"She's new," he clarified answering her unasked question. "And she's my tutor."

"Tutor? You're failing? Oliver..."

"No," he quickly reassured her. "I'm just staying ahead of my studies that's all."

"Oh.” She felt a sense of pride at Oliver taking an initiative. “Well if you're going to a tutoring session, shouldn't you need books?"

"Right," he said letting out an uneasy laugh. "They're in my car." 

"Okay," she said slowly. "You're dressed fairly nice for a generic tutoring session and why isn't this Felicity coming here especially since I don't know her."

Moira knew Oliver had a pretty good head on his shoulders for a teenager, but there were still times she worried. They were a family of notoriety in Starling and people tried to take advantage.

"Because...Because you're overwhelming mom."

"What..."

Oliver waved his hands around gesturing towards the manor. "This is overwhelming for people. Especially for someone new, and someone who doesn't know us."

He loved his parents, but they were people of status. They weren't malicious, it was just that's the way they were brought up. He didn't want to bring Felicity by and throw her into an interrogation scenario with his mom. His dad would watch silently and observe while Thea would ask a million different questions. Plus, he didn't want to scare Felicity away before he barely got to know her. 

"Just let me handle this my way. I'm sure you will meet her soon enough."

Moira finally gave in with a tedious sigh. "Alright, be safe sweetie."

Just as he was about to leave. Thea came barreling into the room running past Moira as she disappeared up the stars. 

"Ollie! Where are you going," she asked. 

"Big Belly Burger," he answered his bouncing sister. "I'll bring you something back Speedy." He walked over to Thea and ruffled her curly hair. 

She brushed his hands away frowning before breaking into an excited grin. "Chocolate shake?"

"Yes," he nodded. "A chocolate shake." He bent down getting eye level with her. "A large," he whispered. 

"A large," she grinned widely. 

Oliver quickly shushed her and she slapped her hands over her mouth. Her eyes were still wide in anticipation. Thea was always forced to get a small, which was understandable since she was only six, but he figured he could let her splurge just this once."Yes, but you have to be very quiet about it. Mom can't know." His voice was barely above a whisper. 

Thea glanced back to see if Moira was gone. She turned back around with no sight of her and nodded. "Pinky promise." 

Oliver laughed at her little pinky sticking out. It's was their little thing. He hooked his finger with hers. "Pinky promise." He pressed a kiss to her forehead before leaving. 

<\---->

Oliver quickly made his way to pick Felicity up. When he got there, he found her waiting outside her apartment complex for him. As they rode to the restaurant, they made short conversation while Oliver pointed out different attractions and sights to her.

"We can sit here." Oliver held his hand out towards a booth seat. 

Felicity followed Oliver while taking a look around the place. It was designed like one of those old school burger places where girls wore poodle skirts and the boys hung around the jukebox. It was cute. 

She slid into a side as Oliver sat across from her. She slipped her bag off her shoulder as she swiped at a stray hair against her forehead. "You didn't bring any books with you," Felicity observed out loud. 

"No..." He saw Felicity's eyes narrow and quickly cut her off before she could say anything. "I'm not trying to get over on you or do anything sneaky, I swear." He held his hands up in his defense. "Since this is our first time meeting, I just figured we could maybe talk. I sort of wanted to get to know you since Sara has held you hostage, so far. If that's alright?"

Felicity studied Oliver warily. Either his game was very good or he was one of the sincerest guys in Starling. Granted she didn't know many, but she had already gotten whistled at and hit on at school. Oliver had yet to do anything like that. So far a perfect gentleman. 

"Okay," she slowly nodded. "We can do that."

"So, how are you liking it here so far," he asked. 

"I like it. Everyone's been pretty nice and welcoming. I haven't gotten the new girl initiation if that's what you're asking."

"Our town isn't like that," he said. "We're pretty good people."

She picked up the menu taking a quick glance.

"Big Belly Burger," she said reading over it. "That's kind of on the nose isn't it?"

"Yep, it’s very fitting too. but it's the best burger joint in town. I promise."

Just as Oliver started explaining the menu, an older lady with a smooth coffee complexion and hair pulled back into a ponytail donning an apron walked out and approached their table looking down at Oliver. 

"Hello Oliver." The lady looked over at her with a curious smile. "And who do we have here," she asked. 

"Carly this is Felicity Smoak. Felicity this is Carly Diggle." He quickly introduced the two of them. "She owns this joint."

"Nice to meet you, sweetie.” Carly offered her a friendly smile and patted her shoulder. “So, where are you from? I assuming you’re new around here.” Carly made it her business to recognize every customer, especially the teens who frequented it often. 

"Correct," Felicity answered. "Moved from Las Vegas actually."

"Vegas. Nice." Carly turned to Oliver as she placed her closed fists on her hips. "I see you've quickly fallen into Mr. Queen's clutches here."

Felicity looked over at Oliver as a bashful smile spread across his face. "Should I be worried?"

"No," Carly laughed. "I'm just kidding. Oliver here is a good guy."

“She’s my tutor,” Oliver told her.

Carly eyed Oliver not sure if she believed him wholeheartedly since there were no tutoring materials anywhere in sight. She gave him an amused smile before turning back to Felicity. 

"Beauty and brains. A great combination.” Carly said pulling out her pad and pen. “Well enough of my digging, you guys decided on anything yet?”

“The cheeseburger special,” Felicity answered.

“The same for me,” Oliver said.

"Okay. Two specials coming right up. Sit tight.”

"She seems nice," Felicity said once Carly left. "Also, Diggle? Isn't that your coach's name?"

"Yeah," Oliver confirmed. "She's his sister in law. She's married to his brother Andy who's in the service."

"Oh. Cool." 

Over crispy fries and a juicy burger, Oliver learned a lot of things about Felicity. She was Jewish, has a love for pandas, but kangaroos freak her out. Favorite color was obviously purple, and was wickedly good with pretty much all things involving computers. She was an only child, so it’s just her and her mother. She briefly mentioned her father wasn’t in the picture and Oliver let her skip over that subject sensing she didn’t want to get into it.

Carly came by and dropped two milkshakes off at their table. Before leaving, she asked if they needed anything else and they said no.

“You really know how to hack,” Oliver asked in astonishment.

“Hacking is such an ugly word. I prefer internet hobby,” she laughed.

He laughed shaking his head. "You're like...you're remarkable," he said in admiration. 

Felicity huffed a small laugh. "Thanks for remarking on it."

"Also, how have you not graduated already? You’re practically a genius."

"I wanted to get the entire high school experience. My IQ level sets me apart from everyone else already, so I didn't want to add on to that. Plus, once Dr. Wells, who is one of my idols, opportunity came, I couldn’t pass it up.”

“Well I’m glad you didn’t,” Oliver said. “It brought you here to Starling.”

Felicity felt her cheeks warm. She thought she was coming out for a tutoring session tonight. That was something she could do with her eyes closed. Instead she was having a deep conversation with a boy that took her completely by surprise.

Oliver looked up to see Felicity intently staring at him. Her head was cocked to the side and her eyes narrowed more with each second passed. 

"Do I have something on my face,” he asked. He wiped at his jaw not seeing anything on his hand.

"No,” she shook her head. “I’m just wondering, what's your story Oliver?"

"Story," he asked. 

Felicity nodded as she played with the straw in her milkshake. "Yeah. I've talked about myself a lot, so this is your chance to tell me about Oliver Queen."

"My hobbies aren't near as smart or complex as yours.”

“Nonsense. Tell me about baseball,” she encouraged him.

"I've played all my life. My dad used to play with me when I was younger. He took me to games and I just fell in love with it. Even though it would be expected of me to follow in my father’s business footsteps, I want to forge my own path.”

Felicity locked her hands under her chin as she leaned and listened to Oliver carefully. She saw how happy he looked talking about this sport. Seemed as if he got the same joy out of it that she got around computers.

“I want to make it to the major leagues,” he continued. “First, I need to get recruited by a great college, which is why I asked you for tutoring help. I want to make sure I have no cracks.”

“Well, I hope I can help you in any way possible,” she smiled. “It seems like you have it all figured out. You're not like other typical teenage guys." Oliver seemed determined. Clear cut goals that he wanted to reach. She 

"And you're not like other girls," he said. “You have a lot of layers, I like that.”

Oliver noticed the time on his phone and saw that almost three hours had passed. Carly came from the back once more and placed Thea’s to go order on the table. "This meal is on the house,” she said as Oliver tried to pull out his wallet. “Also, it was very nice to meet you Felicity, I hope you come back and visit.”

“I will. Everything was so good. Thanks.”

Carly gave them a final wave before going to tend to other customers. 

"Ready to go," he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Had to get one for the road,” she asked.

"This is for Thea," he said. “I always get her something when I come here without her."

"Oh. That's so sweet. I’m starting to think you’re a bit of a sap Oliver,” she joked.

“Don’t tell people or I’ll have to tell them how you eat your burger and fries together.”

“What? Everyone eats that.”

“No, we eat a bit of the burger and then a couple of fries. Not sandwiched between the bun and patty like some sort of savage.”

Felicity snorted a laugh as she stood up with her bag. “It’s good, I promise. I’m going to get you to try it one day,” she said following Oliver out.

“No thank you,” he smiled as he held the door open for her. “I’ll pass.” 

* * *

Felicity tossed a mixed salad with vinaigrette dressing in a bowl as Donna assembled the meat sauce and pasta in serving bowls. Spaghetti was pretty much one of the few dishes her mother could manage. And by few, she meant like five. Cooking was definitely not a Smoak household forte. 

"How's the job mom?" Felicity popped a cherry tomato in her mouth as she awaited Donna's answer. 

"It's really good. I think I'm finally in a place that fits me perfectly. Who knew planning parties and galas could be so much fun? Want to know my favorite part?"

Felicity nodded. 

"Planning kids’ birthday parties," she said with a small smile. "They're always so cute and excited. The princesses and superheroes are adorable."

Felicity laughed at her mother's giddiness. Back in Vegas, her mother worked at the busiest casino in the area. She had been there for as long as Felicity could remember. Once Felicity’s father left, Donna was determined to make sure she kept a steady paycheck, so she made sure nothing happened to her job. She subsequently climbed the ranks and was placed over every cocktail waitress in the casino, but Felicity always felt like her mother could not only do more, but was worth so much more. Her mother never mentioned it, but she knew Donna wanted a change. 

So when the opportunity for Dr. Wells program came up, Felicity saw it as a sign. She applied and hoped for the best. Even before Felicity learned if she was accepted or not, she knew she would have to choose from schools in Gotham, Central City and Starling. Her mother began to look for jobs in those areas just in case. Right when she was accepted, Felicity saw an advertisement for CatCo and encouraged her to apply. Donna flew in for an interview and blew Cat Grant away using her vibrant personality and was offered the job on the spot. 

Donna had sacrificed so much for Felicity that she was glad to finally see her doing something she could really love and be sincerely happy in. 

"I'm really happy for you. You deserve it," Felicity said, voice full of sincerity. 

Donna passed Felicity pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Thank you baby."

"So fill me in on everything Starling Prep."

"It's going good I guess," Felicity shrugged. 

Donna hissed as she deposited the garlic breadsticks from the hot pan to a cool rack. "What does I guess mean," she asked. With them both being busy adjusting to the new town, talking about their days weren't as frequent as before. Donna finally sat to the table proud of her display. "I need details missy, none of those one word answers."

Felicity sat in her seat piling her plate. "It means things are good," she said again. 

Donna rolled her eyes at Felicity basically answering the question the same way. "You and that Sara girl have become friends right," she questioned. 

"Yeah we are. She's really nice. She's been a big help with the transition for me."

"You'll have to invite her over for dinner soon."

"Dinner?"

"Takeout smarty pants," she laughed. 

Felicity laughed with her mom and they began to eat on the saucy goodness in silence. 

"So........any cute boys?" Donna wiggled her eyebrows as she grinned. 

"Ugh mom, please," Felicity groaned. Donna wasn't one of those mothers that shied away from boy talk. She actively encouraged it. Felicity was still traumatized over the birds and bees talk they had when she turned a ripe thirteen. 

"You're a blossoming young lady and you're very pretty, so I'm just doing my doing my motherly duty by digging into your personal life. Now tell me if any boy caught your attention yet?"

Felicity stuffed her mouth full of salad as she rolled her eyes. Suddenly a view of Oliver popped in her mind. They were definitely not there. She had to admit that Oliver left a lasting impression on her. For him to be a "jock" he was serious about school work and looked like he had a clear cut plan for his goals. She had to admire that. She even had to admit that he was cute with his messy hair. 

"There's no one," she said. 

Just as Felicity said that her phone buzzed against the table and flashed. 

"Well who is Oliver Queen?"

Felicity choked on the sip of drink in her mouth as her eyes fell to her phone. She had forgotten it was sitting on the table for her mother's eyes to drill into it. 

"Nobody. Just a guy I'm tutoring." She grabbed her phone and flipped it over on its face. "Nothing like that," she emphasized. 

Donna looked at her with a smile on her lips. She picked up her wine glass and winked. "If you say so sweetie."

* * *

**_[Party - Felicity, Sara & Laurel ](https://www.polyvore.com/untitled_71/set?id=225534896) _ **

Carter Bowen was throwing a party. It was actually the first party of the school year.  According to Sara, Felicity not going to the party wasn't an option. So Felicity packed a duffle bag for the weekend, climbed into Laurel's car and crashed at the Lance's place. It took three hours for the girls to get ready; an average of an hour each. Beauty took time. 

They walked into the party where kids were scattered everywhere. Carter greeted them at the door with two girls wrapped around him. Teens in the corner shared sloppy kisses, a beer pong table set up in another corner. The middle of the room was littered with gyrating couples or potential couples. 

Over in the kitchen, Oliver stood with Tommy and the rest of friends. He took Felicity in. She was talking excitedly to Sara and Laurel. She finally turned and made eye contact with him. He didn't know if he was imagining things, but it seemed as if her smile spread a little wider. She lifted her hand and gave him a small wave with just her fingers. 

The crowd parted a little more and he got a better view of her. Her makeup was a bit softer and her hair was down into very loose curls, something he hadn’t seen until now. The tiger dress hugged her body nicely and as she turned slightly, he got a view of the back. There was a cutout that showed delicate skin, but what made his throat go dry was the sight of the material stretched across her butt.

Tommy elbowed him as the trio began to make their way over to them. He shook himself from his trance just as they were approached.

"Hey guys," Laurel said. 

"What's up," Tommy nodded. "Looking good ladies. I would say you three are the best looking women here tonight."

"That's rich coming from the Thomas Merlyn. How many women have you fed that line to tonight," Sara rolled her eyes. 

"Wow," Tommy gasped with an exaggeration. "We have company Sara." He turned to Felicity with a smile. 

"She's one of us now," Sara said slipping her arm through Felicity's. 

Felicity nodded in agreement wiggling her eyebrows as she leaned into Sara's side. 

"Already corrupted, wow," Tommy exhaled. 

Laurel spotted her best friend in the back and slipped off before Tommy could properly hit on her. He saw Oliver staring awkwardly at Felicity, so he came up with an excuse to get him some alone time.

"Sara, there's someone who wanted to see you," Tommy said. "Felicity will be safe here with Oliver for a moment."

As he ushered Sara away, Tommy shot Oliver an encouraging glance before sneaking a look at Felicity. 

Oliver stifled a laugh as he turned to Felicity. "Drink,” he offered.

Felicity took the drink and moved next to him leaning against the counter. “So, this is what a party looks like in Starling?"

"Impressed or no?”

"Coming from Vegas, you have no idea what I've seen or snuck into. This is nothing. They were a lot more rambunctious than this and a lot more illegal things than underage drinking." She took a small sip of her drink.

"Also, shhhh," she shushed him. "Don’t tell anyone.”

“Secret’s safe with me,” he laughed. “You look nice by the way.”

“Thank you.”

Sara came back without Tommy complaining about him introducing her to some guy that tried to hit on her. She grabbed Felicity’s hand and said they were going to find Amaya.

 <\---->

Oliver held a red cup in his hand as his eyes stared forward. Helena Bertinelli was flanked to one side of him talking endlessly about something. It wasn't even going in one ear and out of the other because he wasn't listening at all. She draped her arm over her shoulder and leaned in closer. Her red lips brushed against his ear softly and he finally snapped out of the trance he was in. 

He had a clear sight of Felicity. She was standing against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. Hovering over her was lacrosse captain Dale. Whatever he was saying, Felicity clearly wasn't interested judging by the disgusted look on her face. 

Oliver didn't like Dale. He didn't like him at all. He was one of those guys that carried the jock stereotype and carried it proudly. He was a certified asshole. He had a problem with girls saying no and pushing his way onto them. His dad was the rich asshole that bought his sons way into everything and Dale didn't hide it. Now he was breathing on Felicity and Oliver could feel his blood boiling at the sight. Without uttering a word, he walked off with Helena's arm falling limply off him. 

Felicity let out a deep annoyed sigh as Dale talked endlessly in her ear. She rolled her eyes at the pathetic display of flirting and some of the worst pickup lines she had ever heard. To make matters worse, Dale's breath smelled like a mixture of alcohol and just all around funk; it was almost turning her stomach at this point. He had followed her around the party for the lasts ten minutes. He kept whispering barely comprehensive things in her ear, so he was clearly drunk. 

She had freed herself from him earlier, but after dancing with Sara and Amaya, she went to the kitchen to get something to drink and was cornered again. Now she had to fend him off once more. Not only had he been trying to drown her with alcohol, he was now offering her a brownie that would not only have her as high as a skyscraper, but kill her with the nuts in it.

"I thought all girls loved chocolate. I'm just trying to be a gentleman and offer a lady some sugar." He grinned sloppily and leaned into her space even more. 

"No," she said through gritted teeth. 

"Give me a good reason why," he responded. 

"I'm sure there is some other chick that would love this attention. As for me, your simple presence is annoying me to no end." 

Someone cleared their throat next to them and Felicity looked up to see Oliver had now joined them. He looked at her with a proud glint in his eye before turning back to Dale. The instance his sight landed on him a fiery annoyance overtook his eyes. "I believe she said no Dale." His voice was low and left no room to mistake him for not being serious. "And no is a good enough reason," he continued. 

"This isn't your business Queen," Dale snipped. Brushing past Oliver, he turned back to Felicity and held out the brownie again. "I was just about to feed this to Smoaky."

"I was just about to hurl," she countered. Felicity made a motion to move but Dale reached out for her. 

It was as if a flash of red light went off in the room as Oliver saw him trying to touch her. Oliver slapped Dale's hand out of the way sending the brownie flying across the room in the process. 

"What the fuck?" Dale bristled up in Oliver's face. 

Dale wasn't about to make Felicity one of his conquests if he had anything to do with it. Obviously Felicity was smart enough to fend him, but he was going to defend her. 

"She can't have that because she's allergic man. Oliver grabbed him by the collar yanking him towards him. "Also, she has said no more than once. So back off and leave her the hell alone man." He shoved Dale backwards hard. Cups and snacks tumbled onto the floor in the commotion until Dale finally landed into the small huddle of people that had gathered. 

Tommy, Laurel and Sara made their way over to the commotion just as Oliver turned back to Felicity. "You alright," he asked. 

"Yeah," she nodded. "Thanks." She gave him an appreciative smile.  

What happened," Sara asked. 

Laurel and Sara pulled Felicity away from Oliver's grasp that she didn't even know she was in. His arm had been wrapped around her waist positioning himself between her and the Dale commotion. 

"Dale's just being a drunken asshole looks like," Laurel said observing the annoyance on Felicity's face. "This isn't the way to get girls. Stop being a sleaze, and maybe someone would actually want to willingly talk to you," she said not hiding her disgust. 

Dale brushed himself off standing back up. His lacrosse teammates came over seeing the scuffle.

"Is there a problem guys," Tommy asked. He stood up behind Oliver giving him extra support. 

Felicity watched the scene play out in front of her as she stood with Sara and Laurel. She made a move to get to Oliver, but Laurel pulled her back. "You do not want to get in between this. Just let them handle that macho stuff."

"You okay," Sara asked her. 

"Yeah," Felicity answered not taking her eyes off Oliver. 

Dale straightened his now stained clothes on him. "The problem is that your boy here doesn't know how to mind his business." 

"It became my business when you touched Felicity without her permission."

“I would do it again,” Dale said.

Oliver lunged at Dale again, but Carter came through the crowd stopping Oliver in his tracks just in time. He stood between Oliver and Dale pushing them both back slightly. 

"Guys can we please cool it," he asked. "I don't need the cops showing up here under any circumstances."

"He has a point," Tommy whispered only for Oliver to hear. 

Cops showing up would mean a world of trouble considering all the underage activities going on. It would also mean severe punishment on Oliver's part and surely everyone else. He held his hands up keeping his eyes on Dale. "I'm good."

"Yeah whatever," Dale scoffed. He followed his teammates away from the kitchen disappearing into the sea of people. 

Laurel suggested that they go ahead and leave, which sounded like a good plausible plan. 

Once they were outside, Felicity stopped Oliver in his tracks. "Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" She pulled her hand away when Oliver's eyes fell down to where it laid. 

"Sure."

"I'll be right there guys," she yelled back to Sara and Laurel. Tommy glanced between the two of them before walking the two sisters to Laurel's car. 

"Thanks again," Felicity said once they were alone. "You didn't have to do that, but you did, so thank you."

"No big deal. Looks like you had it covered though."

"I can usually handle my own, but even I appreciate some help every now and then." she said. She looked up at him this time with a bright smile. 

Oliver couldn't stop the infectious one from spreading across his face. "Well you're welcome."

"How did you know about my allergy," she asked. "The nuts in the brownie."

"You briefly mentioned it at Big Belly Burger," he answered. “I remembered.”

"Oh." Her voice trailed off quietly. 

Oliver had filed that into the Felicity Smoak section of his brain that was growing with each passing day. Not knowing what to do with his hands, he stuffed them in his pockets. He didn't know what to say either, so he went with the safe subject, school. "So, are we still on for our tutoring session," he asked. 

"Yes. Monday after school. 4:15."

"Good. I'll see you there," he confirmed with a nod. 

Felicity stepped off the curb before quickly glancing back at him. She hopped back up on it pushing herself up on her tiptoes and pressed a chaste kiss to Oliver's cheek. "See you later," she whispered. 

The kiss took Oliver by such a surprise that he didn't have time to react and she was gone before he could even say anything. By the time his mind worked again, Felicity was sliding inside Laurel's car. She gave him one final wave that he reciprocated before Laurel drove off. 

Tommy walked around and joined a still standing Oliver on the curb. He let out a long slow whistle before slowly turning to his friend. "So..."

"Nope. I don't want to hear it."

"Alright pal," Tommy said with a knowing smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts??? xoxoxo


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Reading!!!

"Helena that's definitely not how it happened," Laurel said from her seat. They were in their usual group huddle before school. The topic of discussion was Carter’s party, so of course Dale and Oliver were topic number one, and by extension, Felicity.

"It was," Helena quickly objected. "Oliver and I were making a real connection then it all went to hell when Dale and Felicity started whatever." She threw her hand around getting annoyed at then memory. "What is it with him and her anyway," she scoffed. Helena had noticed Oliver and Felicity being what she would consider very cozy. Helena was throwing out her best moves to get his attention and suddenly he was gone. Not only gone, but threatening someone over her. 

"Friends Helena, that's not such a strange concept," Joanna said. 

"I'm just trying to see what it is about her. If it's the grunge style I could totally pull that off. Probably better."

"Helena, please don't start this." Laurel rolled her eyes. Helena was her friend, but she even had to admit that at times she was a lot to deal with. She knew Helena liked Oliver, hell half of the school’s girl population did. Oliver just didn't seem interested in her or any of them in particular. Laurel had a suspicion that Oliver liked Felicity, but didn't know for sure, but he was definitely infatuated with her. "Felicity's nice and she's my friend. So don't start your mean girl routine." Just as she said that she waved at Sara and Felicity across the way.

Sara laughed to herself as Helena stood with her eyes drilling holes into her and Felicity. The jealousy from Saturday night apparently hadn’t worn off.

"Why does it feel like everyone is staring at us," Felicity asked. "Me specifically," she clarified as she waved back at Laurel.

"Because you are the talk of the school right now," Sara answered. 

"Me? Why?"

"Uh, the first party of the year and Oliver almost beats Dale up because he hit on you. We're high schoolers, so we live off drama and gossip. What else would we be talking about?"

"It wasn't that big of a deal."

"To you maybe, but Oliver is typically calmer than that unless he's playing baseball and then he's all zoned in. For him to snap like must've something really ticked him off about that picture."

"He was just being nice.”

“Speaking of the superhero, what's up with you and him?"

Felicity looked confused for a moment. "What do you mean," she asked. 

"Like you and him…together. What's going on there?" Sara definitely saw the cheek kiss and how Oliver's face immediately reddened. 

"Nothing," Felicity shrugged.

Sara smacked her lips at Felicity's obvious lie. Either she was oblivious or she was trying to hide the attraction just like Oliver. "If you say so," Sara said before quieting. 

"What does that mean?"

“Nothing,” Sara shrugged. “If you say nothing, then it’s nothing.”

Tommy walked into the school with his backpack hanging loosely over his left shoulder. Oliver walked beside him as they made their way down the hall.

“So are you going to tell Felicity you like her?”

Oliver’s eyes grew wide as he looked around the halls to see if anyone had heard his loud mouth best friend. “Why don’t you just shout it down the halls then man?”

Tommy erupted into laughter and dodged Oliver’s swing. “So you do like her? I knew it.” He would definitely have to tell Laurel that he had confirmation of that.

“Will you shut up man,” Oliver whispered.

Oliver and Tommy walked to their side by side lockers. Tommy kept laughing to himself as he pulled his books out. “You’ve never been this nervous about a chick before. You weren’t like this with Samantha last year, so this is really unreal.”

Oliver and Samantha dated for probably a total of three months, and he was being generous with that estimate. He thought she was pretty, so he had let Laurel talk him into asking her out and he definitely regretted it. Samantha was nice, sweet even, but definitely not the girl for him. There was no connection, no spark…just nothing. Felicity was different. “I know,” he huffed. “I don’t even know if…,” he paused and looked around again. “If Felicity likes me yet,” he continued. “So, I’m not at the declaring anything stage just yet.”

“She kissed you dude, come on!”

“On the cheek Tommy, just after I took up for her. Excuse me if I’m not screaming about that at the top of my lungs.”

Tommy clamped his hand down on Oliver’s shoulder bringing him in for a half hug. “Just listen to me and I’ll coach you through it. This is my area. Trust me.”

“Oh is it,” Oliver asked.

“Yes,” Tommy confidently nodded.

Oliver peeled himself away from Tommy’s grasp. “Well if it’s your area of expertise, why hasn’t Laurel said yes to you yet?” He patted Tommy’s back making sure to have extra force behind the slap. "We just may be in the same boat pal.”

“Low blow Queen,” Tommy yelled behind him.

* * *

Felicity pulled her history book and binder from her locker and slammed it shut. Last class of the day and then it would be time to meet Oliver in the library. As she turned away from her locker, she met eyes with Dale leaning against the others staring down at her. 

"Oh!" She jumped feeling her heart almost leap out of her chest. Everything in her hands quickly fell to the floor. "What the hell?” She clutched her chest as her heartbeat regulated.

Dale moved to pick up her things, eliciting an eye roll from Felicity. So now he wanted to be a gentleman. 

"I'm fine. Thank you." She reached for her stuff, but Dale had already grabbed everything. Standing up with a frustrated sigh she held her hand out.

He handed over her belongings with a smug grin. "You're welcome."

"Thanks," she mumbled. "How long have you been standing here?" It creeped her out a bit that she didn't hear or see him, but he was there, so close. 

"Long enough." His eyes scanned up and down her entire body before a grin appeared on his face.

Felicity scoffed before holding the books across her chest like a shield. “What do you want," Felicity asked. 

"To talk."

"We have nothing to talk about." Talking to Dale was not even on her list of things to do if she was the last person on earth.

“Can we talk after school?”

"I'll be busy. Sorry,” she shrugged. "In fact, I'm busy for the forseeable future."

"You and Oliver together or something? He won't let you talk to other people without his okay?"

"Who I'm with is not your business, plus it will never be you. Also, if I remember correctly, you said you would touch me again without my permission, so I prefer not to spend time with someone like you." She brushed past Dale, but he reached out grabbing her wrist. "Come on, I was drunk and Queen pissed me off. I totally didn't mean it. Give me a a chance."

Felicity looked down at Dale's clammy hand against her skin. "You literally just proved my point," she snatched away from him brushing past him. "Excuse me."

* * *

Oliver stuffed his equipment in his gym bag. He checked his watch and it was now exactly 4 o'clock. He had fifteen minutes until it was time to meet Felicity. He took a whiff of himself and thought maybe he could take a quick shower before running over there. He gave Tommy a head nod before swinging the bag over his shoulder. As he stood up, he heard the familiar booming voice that had yelled commands for the last hour. "Where are you headed in such a hurry?"

Usually Oliver stayed around a little longer after practice. Doing drills on his own or forcing Tommy to stay with him. Today however, he had been blitzing through individual activities and immediately starting packing up once they were done. 

Oliver straightened up as he answered. "Tutoring."

"Oh yeah? You're not failing, so what spurred this decision?" John made it his mission to stay involved in his players’ academic side as well. He didn't want to be one of those coaches that only cared about their athletic abilities. That meant nothing if their minds went to waste, so passing grades were only acceptable on his team. 

"I'm just trying to stay ahead you know. Not looking to slip up."

"Good to hear." John patted him on the shoulder as Oliver walked past him. "Who's the tutor," John called behind him. 

Oliver turned back to him slowly. "You probably haven't met her yet since she's new, but her name is Felicity. Felicity Smoak."

"Oh? I actually have heard of her. She's the girl you were fighting Dale Snead over at the party this weekend."

All of Oliver's movements ceased as John looked down on him. He began playing with the straps on his bag. Looking off to the side, he laughed nervously. "What?"

John let out an amused laugh. "You heard what I said and yes I know about the party. Word of advice, if you kids are going to throw secret parties where underage things go on, you might not want to loudly talk about it in school halls."

Of course John had known everything the entire time. That's the way Coach was. It was an amazing feat how ever got past him. 

"It wasn't like that I swear. Dale is just an asshole."

"Language."

"He's a jerk." Oliver corrected himself, but nothing described Dale more than calling him an asshole. 

"Was he a jerk before or after he showed interest in the girl you like?"

Oliver shifted on his feet completely bypassing that question. "Has Tommy been talking to you," he asked. 

"No. I'm just looking at the evidence and stating facts. You didn't become interested in full time tutoring until she got here and you went to great lengths to try and get her as your official tutor. Also, you're fidgeting." John nodded down to Oliver's hand against his leg where his fingers were twitching. 

"Fine," he admitted with a huff. He couldn't hide anything from him. "Yes I do like her, but that's not the sole reason I defended her. I would've defended any girl from him."

"What happened?"

"He was drunk and being inappropriate," Oliver explained. He kept coming onto her even after she asked him to stop. I finally made him leave her alone. 

"Okay," John said slowly. "I just want to make sure you keep your head on straight and keep up the good work."

"I am," Oliver nodded. "We didn't actually fight; it was just an argument." As long as Dale avoided Felicity, they wouldn't have any problems on his end. "So, am I done here," he questioned. 

"Yeah. Have a fun tutoring session," John dismissed him. 

 <\---->

Oliver made it to the third floor of the library. Felicity sat a table by herself with her things spread out on the table in front of her. He hadn't seen her all day. He stopped in his tracks for a moment watching her. Her elbow was propped on the desk with her head leaning on the closed fist. Her hair was tucked behind her ear as her left hand rested against her neck. Her eyes scanned the pages making it seem as if whatever she was reading was the most riveting thing ever. He almost didn't want to interrupt her, she looked so peaceful. 

He finally cleared his throat calling her attention to him. Making his way over to her, he pulled out the chair beside her and took a seat. "Hey."  

"Hey," she spoke back a little startled. She put her book down and gave him a small smile.

"What you reading," he asked. 

"Just literature," she answered. She closed her book and pushed it to the side. 

"Sorry I'm a little late," he said. "Coach wanted to talk to me about something."

"No suicides this time," she asked. 

"No," he laughed lightly. "I only did those for you. Also, I apologize for the smell, didn't have time to shower after practice."

"It's fine. That’s how I expect you to smell," she said. She shut her eyes at the weird sentence. "What I mean is that you're a man...I mean not yet, but you will be one day. Anyway, you're a boy that plays a sport, so I expect a sweaty smell."

Oliver stared at the babbling Felicity as she tried to regain her composure. An amused smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he watched her. This was a first babble incident and something new about her he learned.  

Felicity had been like this since her talk with Sara earlier. The question lingered in her mind and then Dale asked her a question along the same lines. So was that like the assumption going around? That she and Oliver were a thing. She didn't think there was anything going on between them, but when she was around him, she got this unfamiliar feeling. He didn't annoy her, he didn't insult her intelligence, he didn't make inappropriate comments hitting on her or anything typical boys did. He was different.

"You know what," she tried to laugh the sudden jitters away. "Let's just get started. What's up first," she asked. 

"Math." He pulled his Calculus textbook out of his junky bag and placed the book on the table opening it up to the section his class was currently on. He pulled out the worksheet of the quiz the class had taken earlier. Handing it to her, Oliver sat back and waited on her assessment. 

Felicity scooted up to the desk and closer to him letting him get a full whiff of her perfume, shampoo or whatever it was. She smelled like a mixture of sugar cookies and flowers to him. It was a pleasant deprive from his sweat. 

"You're not near as terrible as you portrayed," she said. She nudged him lightly with her elbow. 

As she read to herself Oliver's eyes traveled all over her. This was the first time he had the chance to be this close to her, this much in her space. He studied her, every inch of her face. Her eyeliner was always in a perfect stroke across her eyelids and he wondered how long it took her to perfect that. 

His eyes lowered slightly falling on her nose. Her nose ring was so small that you barely noticed it unless you were staring at her very hard. So for him, he noticed it a lot. Her dark pink stained bottom lip was caught between her teeth as she concentrated on the task at hand unbeknownst to his eyes traveling all over her. Her waves of hair fell down spreading over her shoulders with the light hitting the purple streaks littering throughout the dark strands. It was as if he was staring at a work of art.

She was still in her full uniform from the school day. He almost looked away until he saw a slither of skin, more than usual, and then his eyes refused to move. The way she was sitting made her skirt rise up higher than normal, so now her thighs were on display. In his mind he could see his fingers dragging along the skin. He wondered how his flesh against her flesh would feel. 

"What?" Felicity looked up confused. Oliver's head was down and his eyes were drilling holes into her thighs. 

He didn't realize he had actually spoken out loud. God, he hoped it wasn’t something terrible that slipped out. Clearing his throat, he blurted the first words on the top of his tongue. "Panda bears," he questioned as he pointed. 

She dropped her head. "Oh? Yeah they're pandas." This morning she had opted for [knee high panda socks](https://www.polyvore.com/untitled_73/set?id=226195187) instead of her usual tights.

"Nice," he approved.

"You're supposed to be listening Tommy words of wisdom, but instead you're ogling my thighs. Wow." 

"Ogling," he repeated. "I'm not...I'm not doing that," he stuttered. 

She gave him a knowing smirk. "Liar."

"Fine. You caught me. They are quite noticeable though."

"My thighs or my tights," she asked with a slight smile. 

Oliver felt a wave of heat wash over him as he swallowed thickly. She had flustered him. Again. Only she was capable of repeatedly doing this. And to answer her question, it was the thighs that were most noticeable no matter the tights. That's another trick question and I'm not answering it," he finally said. 

"Good job. You're learning," she laughed. "Now back to what I was saying. You're getting the correct answer some of the time, but the other ones are guesses. You just need to properly show your work, which you get more points for that."

"But why," he whined. "I mean if I have the right answer, that should be enough."

"I know," she laughed lightly. "Sadly I don't make the rules." She threw her hair off her shoulder leaving her neck exposed and turned towards him more, her knee brushed against his thigh. "I will show you how to properly work these problems, and in turn you won’t have to guess on these multiple choice questions anymore." 

The two hours of tutoring went by fairly quickly. Felicity was a whiz and Oliver was astounded. People always chirped about how crappy tutoring was, but lucky for him, his experience was starting off flawless.

“Just remember those tips and shortcuts I showed you and you will ace the next quiz,” she said.

Felicity began packing her things. She stood up straightening her skirt on her cutting off Oliver's view of her thighs. “Got it. So, do you need a ride home?"

"No. My mom is picking me up, but thanks." Donna got off work around the same time, so she just told her she would need a ride home.

"Well I'll wait with you," Oliver offered. 

"You really don't have to," she said. 

"I do," he countered. "Can't just leave you alone. What type of guy would I be?” He held his hand out for her bag. She relinquished it over knowing Oliver wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so there was no need of arguing.

They took the stairs down to the first floor talking mindlessly on the way. As they got to the bottom step, Felicity’s bracelet fell from her wrist to the floor. She picked it up examining the clasp that was bent and out of shape.

“Dammit,” she whispered through clenched teeth. “This must have broken when Dale grabbed me.”

"Dale," Oliver all but shrieked. He immediately stopped in his tracks. “What do you mean he grabbed you?”

He showed up outside my locker to talk and give an apology that I didn’t listen to,” she explained. “When I tried to leave, he grabbed my hand to try and get me to stay.”

“Wait, so he apologized for grabbing you by grabbing you again?” He was such a tool and someone that he really wanted to punch. Oliver could feel the same burning intensity in him that he felt at Carter’s party. “Why didn't you tell me," he asked.

Felicity started at him after that question. Was she supposed to run and find him and have him threaten Dale again. She could handle Dale. She couldn't ask Oliver to become her personal bodyguard. "Oliver...we're not together. I don't expect you to run and fight for my honor at every turn."

Immediately feeling dread that she might've came off a bit harsh and unappreciative, she stopped placing a hand on his arm. "Hey. I didn't mean it like that."

He turned to face her shrugging. "I get it..."

"No," she quickly said. "Let me explain. I'm used to fighting battles alone, so I don't expect others to fight them for me. But, I do appreciate you standing up for me. Very much so."

Out of the corner of her, she could see her mother pull up. She came to a stop and Felicity could see Donna making a strained effort to get a good line of sight of her and Oliver. 

"That's me," she nodded behind Oliver. 

Oliver looked back briefly and turned back to Felicity. "Well, I guess I have to let you go." Oliver handed Felicity her backpack with their hands ghosting each other. Both of their hands lingered on the bag as they offered smiles to one another. 

"Thanks for staying with me," she said. 

"Don't mention it."

"I'll talk to you later..." It was more of question than a statement. 

He nodded. "Yeah, text me when you get home."

"Alright." She finally pulled the bag from Oliver's grasp.

She thought about hugging or kissing his cheek again, but then she remembered her mother's hawk like eyes. Opting for a simple smile and nod, she turned and made the short trek to Donna's car. 

As she got inside the car, Oliver turned and disappeared back into the school. 

"Who was that," Donna asked. 

"Oliver," she answered. 

"Oh, so that's the infamous nobody?"

"Yeah I guess if you want to get technical," Felicity shrugged. 

"Is he still considered nobody," Donna asked with a wiggle of her eyebrow. "The two of you looked a little..."

"Mom..." Felicity groaned and slumped down in the passenger seat. She brought the bag up covering her face and the imitate blush taking over it. Donna simply laughed and sped up further down the street. 

Felicity kept her head turned staring out of the window. She didn't want to look at Donna and encourage her to dig more into her life. As the car continued its journey with the buildings, trees and people breezing by, Felicity contemplated her mother's question. Even though she didn't give her an answer, she had one. Oliver was a lot more than nobody. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? xoxoxo


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey." Felicity spoke as she saw Oliver walking up to her. She had just walked in to see if anything edible was on the menu today. "What's up," she asked.

Before he could speak, Oliver’s name loudly rang through the cafeteria, but he didn’t acknowledge it. It wasn’t long before his name was called again.

Felicity glanced over catching Helena's death stare. That's where it was coming from. She looked back at Oliver and nodded towards her. "Uh, I think someone is trying to get your attention," she said. 

Oliver glanced over and small sigh let out. "Oh." He held his finger up telling her to wait. He turned back to Felicity. "That's just Helena, we have a project together," he told her. "Anyway, I was wondering if you want to go get pizza off campus? We’re all going. Tommy, Laurel and Sara. I told Sara I would come find you and ask.”

“Sure,” Felicity answered quickly answered. She didn’t think she would be able to live off chips today because she couldn’t even distinguish what type of meat they were having today.

She got up and followed Oliver to the exit door where Helena was standing.

“Helena. Hey,” he reluctantly stopped.

She briefly glanced at Felicity with annoyance in her eyes before turning back to Oliver.

Felicity almost gagged at how quickly Helena turned on the charm and innocent act and look in an instance. She was good.

“I was thinking we could get a head start on our science project over lunch. What do you say?”

“Oh. I’m actually in the middle of something right now, but I’ll see you in class. Don’t worry.”

Felicity tried to hide the growing smirk on her face as Helena’s act slowly fell apart at the rejection. Obviously that was something she wasn't used to.

“That’s fine,” she said through a fake smile. "See you later." She glanced at Felicity with a small scoff before turning on her heels and walking away.

Oliver turned to Felicity nudging her softly. “Let’s go.”

The group all piled into Tommy's car one by one. Laurel hopped in the passenger seat. Oliver slid into the back against the door. Sara motioned for Felicity to hop in, and she did taking the middle seat with Sara on the other side of her. 

Traveling down the road, they talked about the horrible school lunch, latest gossip and other subjects. As the conversations wore on, Felicity couldn't help but notice a bit of discomfort on Oliver’s face and him growing quieter. "You alright," she asked him. 

He nodded. Which wasn't true at all. He was completely squished and was really rethinking this idea of all of them traveling together.

"Are you uncomfortable," she asked next. She knew he was going to say he was fine, so she decided to take initiative. "Switch with me. You're bigger, so you should have more room in the middle."

Oliver looked at her than looked at his knees pressed against the back of Laurel's seat. "You're sure," he asked. 

She nodded and scooted up motioning for Oliver to start moving. Felicity stood up and Oliver began to slide under her. Just as she maneuvered right in front of him, the car suddenly jerked.

Oliver, without thinking, reached up and grabbed a handful of Felicity's hips as she fell right into his lap. As Tommy's car swerved, and then hit the brakes, Oliver’s grip on Felicity tightened.

"Tommy what the hell," Sara shrieked. 

"Sorry," he exclaimed. 

"Can we please not die while skipping school," Laurel sighed. She ran her fingers through her hair trying to get it back in place.

“I thought I saw something in the road,” Tommy exclaimed.

“I didn’t see anything,” Laurel said.

“It looked like a rabbit or something,” he said. The driving normalized again.

Oliver currently had a face full of Felicity's hair that smelled sweet and Felicity was still perched right in his lap. He couldn't tell where her body began and his ended. 

"Oliver..." She turned slightly not realizing how close their faces were. "You can uh...you can let me up now."

"Oh right."

Sara let out a stifled giggle from her seat before sneaking a glance at Felicity's reddened face. 

Oliver released his tight grasp and Felicity finally managed to peel herself from his arms. His hands accidentally grazed her butt as she slid into Oliver's previously occupied seat. Swiping her hair from her face, she felt Sara's eyes on her and refused to give her the satisfaction of looking at her. 

Oliver sat back clearing his throat as he straightened his clothes back on himself. As he looked up, he caught Tommy's eye in the rear view mirror. His friend smiled at him with a wink. Oliver shook his head lightly with a small laugh of disbelief. 

"What," Felicity asked. 

"Nothing. I was just thinking about something from earlier.” Of course Tommy hadn't seen anything in the road. Oliver didn’t know if he had the best wingman anybody could have or an idiot for a best friend. 

* * *

 

Oliver locked his phone as he felt someone peeking over his shoulder. He looked up in the face of Tommy. Rolling his eyes, he stood up facing him.

"Felicity," Tommy questioned. 

"Yeah, she's coming over."

"Coming over? On a Saturday?" Tommy's eyes widened as Oliver put his phone away. 

"Nothing like that. She’s coming to study and nothing is going to happen," Oliver quickly said. He sounded like he was full of confidence, but he himself didn't really believe it. 

"Oh you have that much control over yourself, huh? Parents going to be there?"

"No," Oliver reluctantly answered as Tommy laughed again.

“This has been the funniest thing I’ve watched play out in a very long time. Because it’s pretty damn obvious the two of you like each other. The tension is disgusting obviously. It’s only a matter of time before…boom!”

Oliver shoved Tommy’s shoulder as he kept talking. “Why haven’t you made a move yet,” he asked. “I can only do so much for the two of you from my position so, honestly, tell me. What's the hold up?”

“I don’t want to mess this up,” Oliver answered. He didn’t want to screw his chance up before he really got one. “I don’t really know how to come out and tell, but I do know that I don't want to be too forward and freak her out.”

“Well, she didn’t seem hesitant in those text messages, so maybe she’s just waiting on you to make that move my guy.”

Oliver shrugged contemplating Tommy’s words. He and Felicity were more comfortable with each other with each passing day, and there were moments of flirtation that he was sure he wasn’t mistaken.

"Merlyn, Queen!” Coach Diggle’s booming voice rang out loudly. “Chat later! Get over here! Now!"

 

<\---->

**_[Manor - Felicity and Oliver](https://www.polyvore.com/untitled_72/set?id=225895616) _ **

"Raisa this is my friend Felicity."

Felicity gave the sweet looking lady a friendly wave. "Nice to meet you."

"Felicity.” Raisa approached her for a surprising hug. “Such a sweet name and I've heard a lot about you." Her accent was very heavy and thick. It took Felicity by surprise; she'd never heard a Russian accent before.

"Oh?! Thank you," Felicity smiled into the hug, glancing back at Oliver.

Raisa noticed the immediate blush creep up on Oliver's face that he tried to cover. She swallowed her laugh before changing the subject. "I hear the two of you have midterms. I put some snacks in the dining room for you."

"Raisa, you didn't have to do that..."

"I know." She cut him off with a wave of her hand silencing him. "But I wanted to, so enjoy." She gave them both a smile before whisking off.

"She's nice," Felicity said once they were alone.

After giving Felicity a small tour of the bottom floor of the manor, Oliver had Felicity follow him up the winding staircase. She was trying not to awe at how massive the house was. It was very magnificent and it looked fitting for a family with the last name Queen.

Oliver opened the door to his bedroom. Felicity walked into the dimly lit room only getting sunlight from the gigantic window. The colors were navy and gray and the furniture was a rich dark oak. The bed was made neatly with no creases in sight.

"Either you're a clean freak or you're one of neatest boys ever."

"I wish I could take the credit, but.."

"Raisa," Felicity concluded.

"Yeah. I try to tell Raisa not to do half of the things she does for me, but she just bats my hand and says 'Mr. Oliver, are you telling me how to do my job?'"

"Was that an attempt at her accent?" Felicity erupted into side hurting laughter. "That was...no."

"It wasn't that bad," he laughed.

"It definitely was." Felicity finally composed herself and began moving around Oliver's room as he dropped down on his bed.

He watched Felicity as she moved around his room. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. He complimented her earlier, but there was so much more he wanted to say. Her outfit was the main reason. The panda bear crop top that showed off a bit of her smooth stomach. Then the jeans with fishnets showed off her thighs, so her skin was peeking out in all the right places. She was wearing glasses today, which he had never seen her in before with her hair up in two buns. The combination gave her a sexy studious look.

"You and Thea?"

Her voice broke him from the daze he was in. She was pointing at a picture of him and Thea on his desk. "Yeah that's Speedy," he said. He grabbed his school bag up off the floor.

Felicity looked around some more until it finally hit her, she was in Oliver Queen's bedroom. No parents, no little sister...just a housekeeper that's currently busy baking down in the kitchen. Just the two of them.

"I got my books."

Felicity jumped a bit at the sound of his sudden voice and the close proximity they were in. Her short height gave her the perfect view of him. The white shirt was right across her chest and her short height gave her a nice view of it. He was still wearing his cap that gave his blue eyes a hooded look. She was definitely a goner. 

"You alright," he asked her.

"Yeah." Felicity ran her hand over her forehead. Just midterm brain," she laughed lightly.

Oliver stayed still and his eyes fell on Felicity's pink lips just as her tongue darted across them. He envisioned dropping his books to the floor and pushing her against his desk. Her pink lips against his giving him a taste of her. Maybe Tommy was right, he wouldn't be able to control his hormones.

"You sure," he asked.

"Mhmmm." She reached out and grabbed the dangling dog tags around his neck. She read the inscription out loud. "Oliver Queen, Captain. Number 13. Does that number have any significance to you?"

"No, I just had to pick a number and it popped in my head."

Oliver stuffed his hands in his pockets as Felicity let the tags dangle through her fingers. She finally dropped the necklace from her hand and pulled herself together. "Well, I guess it's studying time," she said turning for his door.  

Two, almost three hours they spent studying. A couple of bathroom breaks here and there, but for the most part they stayed glued to their seats. Books, highlighted papers and notecards were strewn across the dining table. Crumbs from sandwiches and chips stained all the materials. 

"I think my eyes have crossed." Felicity leaned back in the chair squeezing her eyes shut. She stretched popping the kinks out of her back. Taking her glasses off, she dropped them in her open book. She rubbed them as they readjusted. She looked over at Oliver with his head down in his binder not moving or saying a word. Poking him in his arm gently. "Are you dead," she asked.

"My brain is." His muffled voice finally cried out. He sat up scrubbing his face. With a stretch he stood up and popped his back. He had enough of trig functions, integrals and everything else.

They covered every subject. Every single one. Oliver griped about showing his Calculus work as usual while making fun of Felicity's enthusiasm over Shakespeare.

"A break," he suggested. "How does that sound?"

"It sounds amazing," she exhaled.

Felicity placed her hand in Oliver's outstretched hand letting him lead her out of the dining room and outside. He held onto her hand as they walked to the backyard.

"Ah, fresh air." She twirled around in the huge yard. The grass was a perfect shade of green. It was the type of grass you could lay and roll around in.

Oliver leaned against a huge oak tree that was rooted in the middle of the yard. A treehouse and a tire swing was attached to it. "This was my treehouse first," he told Felicity. "Then it was handed down to Thea, obviously."

Felicity could see the bright pink colors standing out. "It's cute. Very bright and cute. So is this where you honed your skills," she asked. She noted the different pieces of baseball equipment scattered around.

"Yep." He jumped up hitting the treehouse. A tattered looking baseball fell down attached to a rope. "This is what I started out on." He grabbed the ball holding it up to her. "It's seen better days obviously, but its old faithful." He fell quiet and then an idea popped in his head. "Want to give it a try," he asked.

“What?” She looked around like he could be talking to anybody but her.

“I promised to teach you didn’t I?”

“Me,” she pointed at herself.

“Yes Felicity,” he laughed. “I want to share this with you, now get over here.”

“Okay.” She reluctantly drooped her hands and walked over to him. “Just be warned that my athletic ability is not up to your standards.'

He grabbed a silver bat and reached it to her.

She took the bat from him surprised by the weight of it. "Oh!"

"Yeah it's a little heavier than it looks," Oliver said. "Now listen. Your feet should be shoulder wide," he instructed. "Knees slightly bent and turn slightly while keeping your front shoulder straight."

Felicity dropped the bat and perched her hands on her hip. "Oliver that literally went right over my head."

"Sorry, I channeled coach for a second there. I'll show you." He picked the bat up for her as he moved around her.

Felicity stood still as Oliver molded his body around hers and she couldn't help but notice just how perfectly she felt in his arms. She smelled a forestry smell that she concluded came from his shower products he used after practice. Oliver repeated the instructions to her again with his lips close to her ear. She could feel the short bursts of air with each word he spoke.

Felicity swallowed hard and nodded at his commands.

"Keep your fists close together and tight," he instructed. He kept his hold on as he did a couple of practice swings with her showing her the correct motion. With each practice one, it seemed as if he got closer and closer to her. He finally released her and told her to give it a try.

Felicity kept Oliver’s words in mind and swung the bat. It connected with the baseball sending it into the air before dropping back to it resting place.

"I hit it." She jumped up with excitement.

“Congrats,” he said taking a step back as she wildly swung the bat around.

She twirled off balance and Oliver caught her around her waist. "Woah," he laughed. They both laughed at the horrible display of skills being shown.

Felicity turned around in Oliver's arms facing him as he draped his them low around her waist holding onto her tightly. The bat was between them keeping them from being fully meshed together. Their laughs finally ceased and they both noticed what predicament, rather position, they were in, but neither moved.

Felicity looked away briefly but Oliver's eyes never moved. He kept his gaze on her. Oliver's eyes lowered to her mouth and instinctively he licked his lips. He slowly looked back up at her eyes and began to lean in. He came forward most of the way stopping with just an inch of space between them. She shut her eyes and met him the rest of the way firmly pressing her lips against his. Oliver's eyes closed as he sighed at the feel of her lips on his. He snaked his tongue out teasing the crease of her lips before she opened up allowing him inside. Her moan melted into his mouth as the kiss deepened with each passing second. The wind bristled around them breezing through their connected bodies and if they weren't so focused on one another, they could hear it ruffling through the trees. Nothing else mattered though. This moment was finally happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a kiss! Progress has been made and they are over that hump! This is the chapter I couldn't wait to get to, so they could finally take that step. ;) Thoughts?


	5. Chapter 5

The bat dropped from Felicity's hands as she snaked her arms around his neck with Oliver pulling her close to him.  His hands found their way under her shirt with his palms flattened against the warm skin at the dip of her back. He softly teased her skin with his fingers as her hold on him tightened. The kiss intensified as their tongues tangled and teeth clashed in a hungry fervor. 

A loud throat clearing noise made Oliver and Felicity both break away from each other startled. Oliver looked back seeing his mother and little sister standing with eyes locked on them. Felicity's head turned just as Oliver addressed them. 

"Hey mom," he said nervously. He moved a bit in front of Felicity acting as sort of a shield. 

Felicity wished she could stay behind Oliver and eventually dissolve into thin air instead of facing his mother. She weaved on her feet with nervous energy coursing through her. It was almost to the point where she could vomit. She straightened her shirt back on her as Oliver inadvertently tried to adjust his sweatpants. Grey sweatpants...great clothing choice by the way. 

"Who is that?" Thea's innocent voice was the next to speak. She strained her neck trying to get a better view of Felicity. "Mom she has purple hair," she exclaimed as she pointed. 

Moira pushed Thea's hand down as she finally spoke. "Hello son." Her greeting wasn't at all friendly or warm and even though she was talking to Oliver, her eyes stayed on Felicity. 

Oliver could feel Felicity practically cowering next to him. "Mom, I..."

"Let's all go inside shall we?" Moira turned on her heels telling Thea to follow her.

Thea looked back with a smile on her face. She threw Felicity a small wave before running behind her mother. 

"This is a nightmare," Felicity groaned when she thought Moira was far enough not to hear. She began pacing around trying to think of something, but what? His mother was pissed, that was evident   "A literal nightmare," she said again.

"I know." Oliver sighed scrubbing his face. He couldn't even sugarcoat it. This was the worst way for his mother to meet Felicity. "I'm sorry," he apologized. He apologized for them getting caught and whatever talk they were about to endure. He knew as soon as she stepped foot in the house, it would be an interrogation under the lights. 

"Not your fault," Felicity said as Oliver grabbed her hand and made the short trek to the house. 

"Go change out of your dance clothes Thea Queen," they heard as they walked inside. 

When they fully entered the house, Moira stood in the foyer with her arms crossed waiting. 

Oliver quietly introduced them. "Mom, this is Felicity. She's the tutor I told you about."

"Tutor," she repeated. "And exactly what subject were you studying? Anatomy?"

Felicity winced as she closed her eyes. She was speechless and didn't know what to say. As she popped them back open, her gaze landed right in Moira's. Moira's eyes traveled up and down her body, from the strands of hair on her head to the pink shoes on her feet. She silently reprimanded herself for wearing this outfit today. No official tutor wore a crop top and fishnets to a tutoring session. What she wouldn't give her some complete jeans and a sweatshirt right now.

"Mrs. Queen. I’m sorry you walked in on that.”

“Don’t be mad at Felicity, I invited her over. We were studying and then took a break for fresh air."

"And your lips found each other. I see.” Moira’s gaze fell back on Felicity and she swallowed hard as she addressed her. "Miss Smoak, did you drive here,” she asked.

"No...no ma'am. Oliver picked me up."

"And is this tutoring session over?"

"I mean…”

"Yes, it's over," Felicity quickly said cutting Oliver off. She didn't think any other answer would suffice for Moira. She shot Oliver a pleading look asking him not to try to fight it and just let things end now. 

"Yeah, we're done," he said.

"Well then," she said. "We have a driver that can take you home. I'll let you collect your belongings."

Oliver's eyes widened at the blatant rudeness. "Mom, I can take her home," Oliver quickly objected. 

"It's fine," Felicity said.

"No it's not fine. I picked you up, so I will take you home."

"Oliver, just leave it alone,” Felicity whispered. She left Moira and Oliver by themselves to go gather her stuff from the dining room.

“It's been decided son. Will you go check on your sister? I will make sure Miss Smoak gets home."

“Unbelievable,” he scoffed as he walked past his mother up the stairs.

After his mother sent Felicity home with no regard to her feelings, he locked himself in his bedroom not wanting to be bothered. 

Felicity let him know she had made it home alright, and he apologized again. She told him it wasn't his fault, so there was no need to keep apologizing. He decided to leave her alone for the time being. He texted Tommy about the situation, in turn, he immediately called him. After laughing in his ear for an extended period of time and saying I told you so about not being able to contain himself, he finally grew serious. He suggested giving Felicity a bit of space then reaching out. So, that's what he begrudgily decided to do.

<\---->

Oliver was promptly called downstairs for dinner at their usual time. He walked in as Raisa placed his plate at his seat. He gave her a stiff smile as she walked past and squeezed his bicep. She whispered something in Russian with a smile on her face. Oliver didn't know what it meant, but knew it was something comforting coming from her. 

"Son," Robert acknowledged him. 

"Hey dad." He sat down and Thea quickly beckoned for him to lean over to her. 

"I think you're in trouble," she whispered. 

"No whispering at the dinner table Thea," their mother spoke. 

Thea sat up and mouthed sorry to him. Oliver huffed a small laugh before turning back to his plate. 

"Oliver. I told your father what happened.”

“Oh, I’m sure you did,” he mumbled. “Dad,” Oliver called him. “It wasn't what it looked like."

"What it looked like," she repeated. "Because to me it looked like your tutor had her tongue shoved down your throat and your hands were all over her."

Thea broke into a fit of giggles immediately.

"Here I am thinking you're getting a tutor to stay on top of things and focused, but instead it was to obviously get close to some girl."

"Did you tell dad how mean you were," he asked. "I'm sure you didn't give him that side of the story."

Moira opened her mouth to protest but Oliver kept going. 

"Mom you were rude. You didn't even try to hear her or me out. You immediately judged her, sent her home with some strange driver and that was it. How do you think that made her feel?"

"All of this could've been avoided if you handled things better, but instead you've been sneaking around."

"Sneaking doing what? Getting math tips because that's the only thing that's been going on. She’s not just some random chick.”

"You've known her what? A couple of months Oliver. That's not time enough to make an accurate assumption of the type of person she is.”

"Well I obviously know more than you," he shot back. 

"You stood in that foyer and told me that you were seeking a tutor to make sure you stayed on top of your grades. Instead, I find you in the backyard making out with said tutor. What am I supposed to think?"

"So you think I lied?" He dropped his fork in his plate and sat back with a scoff. "Wow. You think I was going to take her up to my room and bone her right with Raisa here?"

"Oliver language!"

He looked over at a wide eyed Thea and immediately regretted his choice of words.

"Alright." Robert finally spoke up from his end of the table. "Can we all just take a moment and calm down here?"

Quietness fell upon the table again. Oliver shoved the food around in his plate not feeling like indulging in anything. 

"Who is this girl Oliver," his father asked. 

"Her name is Felicity Smoak, she moved here this year from Las Vegas. She's here because of that Harrison Wells guy program..."

"So she's on a scholarship basically," Moira interrupted. 

"Does it matter," Oliver asked. 

"Yes, because I'm trying to learn all these details you've been withholding."

Robert held his hand up with a sigh. "Just...just let him finish."

“Like I was saying, she’s on that program, so I knew she was one of the smartest people in school. I asked her to tutor me, and she said yes. Then we started hanging out too. Felicity, Sara, Laurel, Tommy and me. We’re all friends.”.”

“She just agreed to it,” Moira asked. “No persuasion, no pay, no nothing? She just automatically said yes?”

“I offered to pay her, but she said no. I know I have to watch my back because of my last name, but not everyone is looking to get over on me. I’m not seeing the point of this. Felicity isn’t anything like you’re suggesting.”

With each question, he grew more and more aggravated. He understood her being upset that he had a girl in her house without her knowledge and while she wasn’t there. He understood that angle clearly. But the conversation was delving into things that he had a problem with.

"May I be excused?" Before an answer could come, Oliver sprung from his seat, sending the chair flying back in the process. He headed for the stairs as his mother called his name behind him. 

Robert held his hand up finally speaking again. "Let him go sweetie. Just let him have some space right now." He looked over at Thea who had been picking at her asparagus for the last ten minutes of the conversation. "You can head up too baby girl, but don't bother your brother."

"Yes," she exclaimed and took off flying up the stairs. 

"Robert that is not how we do things in this house and especially not at the dinner table," she said. 

"I know that alright. But dinner was obviously going nowhere, so better to just bite the bullet."

"I just love how quiet you were," Moira said with sarcasm dripping from each word.

"He's a sixteen-year-old boy," Robert countered. "He's going to be interested in girls. It's perfectly natural. I just don't see what the big ordeal is about."

"She wasn't what I envisioned when he said tutor and then I saw the full package..."

"The purple hair that Thea kept mentioning is true," he questioned. 

"Yes," Moira nodded. "Also a nose ring and that's not even half of it."

He laughed before taking a sip of water. "The girl is what, fifteen, sixteen? I expect questionable fashion choices at that age. Everyone isn't going to be a practicing debutant like the Samantha girl he had a fling with last year."

"Whatever happened with her? He never gave me an explanation.”

"She was boring."

"Robert!” 

"Your son's words, not mines." He held his hands up. "Listen, Oliver has never given us reason not to trust him. With him being born into money and notoriety and then being a star athlete, I would say we should really be counting our lucky stars. He could be an asshole doing a million different things right now, but he's not. Let him breathe.” 

Robert had to admit that the tutoring angle was a good ploy for Oliver to use. He would have to tell him that later.

“Also, I’m sure we will be seeing this Felicity again," he continued. "You already have hinted that you’re against the relationship, so I expect it to be full steam ahead now.”

Moira picked up her wine glass taking a big sip with a deep sigh stewing on her husband's words.

 <\---->

Oliver laid in his bed pounding the baseball into his gloved hand. He stared up at the ceiling, silently reflecting. His phone was off to the side of him with still no text from Felicity. He couldn't blame her if she was ignoring him. His mother had certainly picked a great way to cock block him. Even with the drama, he didn't regret kissing Felicity. The only thing he regretted was getting caught. 

There was a small knock on his door before the doorknob rattled. He already knew who it was before the voice called out. "Come in Speedy," he yelled.

“Ollie. Are you still mad?"

"Not at you."

She crawled in his bed and rested or her knees beside him.

"What's up," he asked poking in her ticklish sides.

“What does bone mean?” Oliver sat up facing his innocent little sister as she looked up at him awaiting an answer.

“Bone is a bad word that I shouldn’t have used in front of you. It’s a word that you shouldn’t say ever. So don’t.”

Thea nodded. Oliver could see the creases at her eyes as the wheels turned in her head. He knew another question was coming.

"So, is Felicity your girlfriend," she asked. 

"No," he answered.

Thea cocked her confused head to the side. "Well why were you kissing her?”

"I like her, but I don't know if she likes me anymore. So girlfriend may not be happening.”

“Because Mommy was mean to her,” she questioned.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“I thought she was pretty and that her hair was cool. If you bring her back, I won’t be mean to her. I’ll even let her play with my dollhouse.”

Oliver laughed as Thea rambled off her prized possessions. “I’ll make sure to let her know Speedy.”

"Also, get her cookies," Thea added. "Cookies make me smile all the time."

* * *

When Felicity got home, she texted Sara and Felicity about the situation. They both said that it caused for an emergency girls meeting, so they hopped in Laurel's car and came over. 

"So, how was the kiss," Sara asked. She dropped down between Felicity and Laurel with the bowl of popcorn in her lap. “You never told us, we only discussed the mother part.”

"Sara! That's not the most important thing here," Laurel said. 

"Oh you're right," Sara said. She turned back to Felicity. "How much tongue was involved," she asked this time. 

Felicity laughed grabbing a handful of popcorn out the bowl. She rolled her eyes before answering. "A lot." It was an amazing kiss Felicity had to admit. It made her feel like in that moment it was just the two of them in the world. Wrapped in each other's arms with connected lips. "The kiss was great. So great we didn’t even notice we had an audience," she mumbled on the kernels.

"That is just...unfortunate," Laurel winced.

"Yep." Felicity groaned stuffing her mouth again; she could still see Moira's unflinching eyes staring at her. Judging. Critiquing. "I could totally tell what Moira was thinking. She was thinking that this girl doesn’t belong with her son, and we come from two different lifestyles. He's basically this prince and I'm just regular ole me."

Sara and Laurel sat quietly as Felicity ranted.

"Also, this outfit.” Felicity waved her hands in front of herself. “Not exactly the best choice to wear today,” she finished.

Laurel grimaced again. “You looked cute at least,” she offered. “Oliver definitely thought so," she jokingly added.

The joke didn't ease her thoughts. "What if Oliver comes to his senses now and realizes that he can have a girl like a thousand times better than me?"

"Felicity, what are we thirty," Sara laughed. "I think you're overthinking it. Ollie likes you. I mean really likes you. This whole tutor thing was a ploy to get next to you anyway."

“I don’t know,” Felicity sighed.

“The Lance’s aren’t exactly on the same wavelengths as the Merlyn’s and Tommy has banged Laurel," Sara said much to Laurel and Felicity's surprise.

“Wait, really," Felicity gasped. "You didn’t tell me that,” Felicity looked at Laurel.

“Because I didn’t tell anyone and chatty here,” she casted a look at Sara, “wasn’t supposed to know.”

“Oh please,” Sara scoffed. “You two are even worse at hiding the fact that you hooked up than Oliver and Felicity were at hiding their obvious attraction.”

“When did this happen,” Felicity asked with a grin. For the moment she forgot about her problem.

“This summer before school even started and it was one time and one time only.”

“Why,” Felicity asked.

"Tommy's not serious. Like at all. Yeah he likes me, but he also likes pretty much every girl with a short skirt," Laurel said. 

Felicity and Sara stared at Laurel as she mindlessly flipped through the magazine in her lap.

“What,” she looked up and asked. “He's a flirt. How am I supposed to know he wants to get serious with me?"

“Because he follows you around like a love sick puppy. He only flirts with the other girls to get a reaction out of you."

“Anyway!” Laurel held her hand against Sara's mouth quieting her. “The horrible analogy Sara was making is that our father is a policeman and our mother is a teacher," Laurel said. "That's not exactly glamorous."

"Yeah but you guys grew up here at least. You didn't move from Vegas with your single mother.”

"Tommy and Oliver’s families are cut from the same cloth. Tommy doesn’t care about that stuff and neither does Oliver. Trust me okay," Laurel said confidently.

<\---->

Sara turned to Felicity as she suddenly grew quiet while staring at her phone. "What is it," she asked. 

"Oliver's outside," she said. 

"What? Really?" Laurel took the phone from Felicity and read the texts. 

Felicity jumped from her bed and bolted to her window. Pulling back the curtain she saw a shadowy figure standing outside in a hoodie. Oliver pushed his hood down and looked up at her. "It's really him," she whispered back at her friends.

Sara and Laurel came over and peered out the window. Oliver waved at the three of them with only Felicity waving back. "Are you going to go down," Laurel asked. 

"Yes, but..."

The sound of her door opening made them all yelp and jump. Felicity dropped down into her vanity seat as Laurel's hands flew to her hair and Sara stood awkwardly to the side. As Laurel began brushing Felicity's hair, Donna peeked in the room. "You guys alright," she asked. 

"Yes ma'am," Sara and Laurel sang. 

"We're fine mom. Thanks."

Donna's eyes stayed on the three of them for a minute. She sensed something was off, but couldn't quite tell what. "Need anything?"

"Nope, we will be going to be going to bed soon."

"Okay," Donna finally said. She could always tell when Felicity was lying. Her forehead would crease and her eyes would wander. "I would say I'll have breakfast ready for you guys in the morning, but..."

"You can't cook," Felicity laughed. 

"Exactly," Donna laughed. 

"Don't worry Ms. Smoak, we'll get something on the way in," Sara smiled. "Thanks for everything else though."

"Goodnight girls." 

They all said goodnight and waited until they heard Donna's shower water running. Felicity peered back out of the window this time to find Oliver leaning against his car. She lifted the window up. "Hey," she whispered grabbing his attention. "What are you doing here," she asked. 

"I needed to see you," he whispered back. "Can you come down?"

"This is like a real life Romeo and Juliet moment," Sara whispered. 

Felicity threw her a look as she chewed on her bottom lip contemplating things for a moment. "Okay. One second." 

"We'll cover for you," Sara said. "Don't worry, just get down there." 

Felicity nodded and pulled on an oversized sweatshirt while slipping into her shoes. 

"Please make it sort of quick. I get very nervous when I have to lie," Laurel whispered. 

Sara yanked Laurel back before gently pushing Felicity. "Go, go, go."

Oliver shuffled on his feet as he waited for Felicity to come out. He was going to be truthful with her. Felicity finally emerged walking up to him in a sweater that engulfed her entire body. 

"Hey."

"Hey," he spoke back.

Oliver turned and reached inside his car window. He pulled out a small container reaching it to her. 

"What is this," she asked taking it from him. 

"I promised you something. Open it."

Felicity popped the container open revealing chocolate chip cookies. An immediate grin spread on her face as she took in the baked goods. 

"You didn't get a chance to get them and then Thea stole them, so Raisa made you a fresh batch," he said. 

"Thank you," she smiled. She looked up at Sara and Laurel grinning down at her and Oliver. “These aren't going to last very long with those two. Tell Raisa I said thank you."

"Will do."

"So," she cleared her throat. “Didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow. This is a surprise,” she said.

"I know. Besides apologizing again for my mother, I came to tell you something,” he said. Oliver took her free hand in his and walked closer to her. “I like you Felicity. I like you a lot. I guess what I’m trying to get as is if you feel the same…”

"I kissed you Oliver, I don't go around just kissing guys I don't like. Your feelings aren't one sided. I like you too."

Oliver smiled at the confirmation of her feelings. "Good to know. Well, I guess I should let you get back inside don’t want you to get in trouble.”

Oliver dropped her hand as she turned on her heels. Closing her eyes briefly, she breathed in before turning back and calling his name. "Oliver."

"Yeah?"

Felicity quickly eliminated the space between them. She threw her arm around Oliver's neck pulling him closer. Oliver's hand latched onto her waist. She pushed herself up on her tiptoes kissing him deeply. Her tongue delved into his mouth and Oliver happily opened up accepting every bit of her.

Felicity finally pulled away feeling a wave of shyness wash over her when she finally remembered the two extra set of eyes on her upstairs. "Goodnight," she whispered. 

Shaking the shock off of him at the brief, but intense kiss, he leaned in and pressed another chaste kiss to her lips. "Goodnight Felicity."

Upstairs, Donna watched from her room window making sure not to make any sudden movements to alert them of her presence. She could see the smile practically radiating off of her daughter as she walked back towards the apartment. Smiling to herself, she moved away from the window and continued getting ready for bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts.??


	6. Chapter 6

Weeks passed and the first school trimester was winding down; October was approaching. Oliver and Felicity were officially a couple. For one, his mother didn't know they were actually dating. She had suspicions because of the kiss, but no concrete evidence to know anything further was happening. They would sneak around, either at Tommy's house where his father barely frequented, or Felicity's place when her mother was at work. They tried to keep it mostly quiet around school as to not draw too much attention to themselves.

In class, Felicity slid into her assigned seat next to Sara. She pulled out her textbook and as she was digging around for her pen, she could feel Sara's eyes on her. She looked up just as the bell rang signaling the start of class. Mrs. Williams immediately launched into the topic for today, but Sara's gaze with a smirk lingered on her. "What," she whispered. 

"How long are you and Ollie going to keep sneaking around?" Sara's eyes traveled over Felicity clearly seeing that she was a bit flushed and her clothes were wrinkled.

"Why?"

Sara gave shrug. "Just wondering." Other than it being pretty damn obvious that they were a thing because the heart eyes between them was borderline disgusting. She understood the keeping it quiet for now because of the whole still upset mom thing, but they would definitely have to dial it back a bit if they didn't want to be exposed. 

"No one knows anything and we're pretty careful."

"Well tell that to the hickey forming on your neck." Sara poked the red spot with her pencil smiling broadly. 

Felicity jumped with a gasp as Sara failed at stifling her laugh. Felicity's hand flew to her neck just as Mrs. Williams glared at them. 

"Is there a problem finding the designated reading," she asked. The rest of the class turned their eyes toward them and she kicked Sara under the desk for drawing attention to them.

"No ma'am," Felicity answered. "Page 206, got it right here." She leaned against her elbow propped up on the desk. She dropped her eyes back down to the book and the teacher finally turned back to the board. 

"Felicity, it definitely looks like you just came from a quickie,” Sara whispered.

"We weren't," Felicity quickly said. "We were just under the bleachers." 

Sara gagged before smiling. "Looking at you now, I just hope Oliver doesn't have on his sweats."

They finally ceased the quiet whispers and turned their attention to the chapter as Ms. Williams wrote out notes on the board. Felicity tried to pay attention the lesson at hand, but her subconscious was eating away at her. She felt like it was probably the size of her head and bright red like a glaring danger sign. 

Felicity nudged Sara grabbing her attention. "Is it bad," she whispered. She had a meeting with Counselor Michaels right after class, so she definitely didn't need a hickey standing out. 

"Let me see." Sara leaned in and it was definitely getting bigger. Felicity pulled at the collar of her jacket in an attempt to cover it up, but it was no match. 

"Here." Sara grabbed her hooded jacket from behind her back. "Slip this on."

Felicity slipped off her jacket and pulled the sweatshirt over her head. She pulled at the strings tightening it around her neck. Turning to Sara for approval, "is this better," she asked. 

"Yeah," Sara nodded. "You're good now. Tell Oliver to dial back on his vampire practicing next time please."

"Shut up."

After class, Felicity stuffed her jacket along with her books in her locker. Out of the corner of her eye she could see none other than Oliver approaching with a small smile. 

"Hey." He noticed the yellow hoodie on her. "What's up with you wearing Sara's sweater," he asked. 

"You devoured my neck, so..."

A proud smile began stretching across Oliver's face as Felicity explained the reason for the sweater. 

"Just like a guy." She playfully rolled her eyes as he tugged at the sleeves of the sweatshirt. 

"I have to meet with Counselor Michaels,” she told him. Being one of the new students required her to meet periodically to discuss how well the transition was going. Felicity thought she would dread the meetings, but Counselor Michaels was actually nice. She learned that she was married to Coach Diggle, but opted to keep her maiden name for professional reasons. It was good to know she had someone to go to if there were any problems.

Oliver tugged at the straps on his backup. “Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I’ll see you later then.”

Sara popped up from behind Felicity and stepped between the two lovebirds.

"Yes, after school you will,” she said. “I think you've done enough on campus grounds today, don't you?" Sara grabbed Felicity’s hand and pulled Felicity behind her as they both laughed.

* * *

**_[Party - Felicity, Sara & Laurel](https://www.polyvore.com/untitled_77/set?id=227259151) _ **

Tommy decided to throw a house party before the final exams started. His father was away on business, so the house was free. With the help of Oliver, the two of them filled the house with drinks, food, games and anything imaginable that would entertain hormonal teenagers. 

With their usual routine, the girls got dressed together and made their late entrance. The trio walked in, but Oliver's eyes only registered one. Felicity's body was draped in an off the shoulder distressed tshirt dress that stopped mid thigh. Chunky heels were attached to her feet that somehow made her legs seem as if they went on for days. With each step she took, her dress swayed up her thighs. 

"Close your mouth before you attract flies," Tommy said while shoving a bag of ice in Oliver's arms. 

The three of them split up just as Felicity spotted Oliver. She walked up to him as she looked around the mansion. "You two did good," she said impressed.  

He swallowed deeply as he got a full view of just how great she looked. "You look amazing," was all he could mutter. Thankfully his hands were full because he had the urge to drag her to a secluded area and tease her skin with his fingers.

"You might want to take care of that." She gestured down to his waist and he thought for a moment, he had a boner, which definitely wouldn't surprise him at this point. 

He looked down noticing the droplets of water falling to the floor from the bag of ice in his hands. "Oh," he laughed. "Yeah let me go do that." He pressed a quick chaste kiss to her cheek before turning to find Tommy.  

<\----> 

Felicity stood in between Sara and Laurel, all three leaning against the wall. The party was getting in the thick of things. They were taking a break from the congestion and now people watching. In their line of sight was Oliver, Tommy and Carter standing off in the kitchen. Soon, the small circle was interrupted when the tornado blew in. Standing in front of them was none other than Helena. The leather mini skirt she was wearing seemed as if it rose an inch every couple of seconds. She kept flipping her hair as she talked. Carter seemed as if he was in a trance as she talked.

Laurel crossed her arms across her chest narrowing her eyes at Tommy who was desperately trying not to look at Helena. He caught Laurel's line of sight and nervously smiled at her.

Helena was very gorgeous. Even through her dislike, Felicity could admit that. She had model type features and luxurious long dark locks of hair. She used her looks to her advantage; you had to work with what you were given. But making moves on every guy, more importantly, Oliver wasn't a thing to let slide. 

"She has no sense of pride," Sara mumbled. She brought her cup up taking a small sip. "If I ever get like that, please one of you slap me."

"Well for starters you're not pathetic," Felicity said. 

"You should teach your friend some morals big sis," Sara whispered. 

"We aren't best friends," Laurel quickly objected. If anything they were associates more than anything else. 

"Hold this," Felicity said. She slapped her cup into Sara's hands. 

"Wait," Sara reached for her. "Do we," she gestured between her and Laurel. "More importantly, do I need to follow for backup cause I've honestly been so ready for something like this to happen." 

Sara whispered please as Felicity laughed at her. "No," Felicity waved her back. "I'm just going to talk to Oliver."

"Ugh," Sara sighed. "Well just send me a signal or something if you need backup."

Behind Helena, Oliver could see Felicity approaching. Helena was oblivious to her, and as she continued to talk, he brought his cup up to his lips to hide his smirk. 

"Excuse me Helena." Felicity made sure her shoulder brushed against her as she positioned herself between her and Oliver. "I need to talk to Oliver."

Helena huffed and rolled her eyes. "Can’t you see that I'm talking to him," she replied. 

"Yeah I see that, but I really don't think he's interested."

Helena stepped back with a judgmental look as her eyes looked Felicity up and down. "Oh, let guess, he’s interested in you instead," she scoffed. 

"I am,” Oliver said. “What's up Felicity?”

Felicity contemplated many ways to tell Helena to back off. She could say back off, or she could say that she and Oliver were together. However, Helena was the type that needed to be shown. Without hesitation, Felicity turned and planted her lips on Oliver's. Across the way, Laurel and Sara's eyes widened as they gasped. Tommy nodded proudly as the makeout ensued. If the kiss surprised Oliver, he didn’t act like it. His hand wrapped around Felicity's waist pulling her closer deepening the kiss.

"Pick up your face Helena," Sara yelled before Laurel could slap a hand across her lips. 

Sucking down on Oliver’s tongue, Felicity finally pulled away and turned to a speechless Helena. “Is that proof enough for you,” she asked her. 

“Wow,” Carter said with a low whistle

It was as if Helena was planted frozen to the floor.

Pushing himself off the wall, Oliver grabbed Felicity's hand. "Excuse us," he said as he walked them off quickly. 

They made it to one of the secluded bedrooms in the mansion and he locked the door behind them. The light was dim and it illuminated Felicity's face giving her an angelic like glow.

"Felicity..."

"I know we were keeping things sort of quiet and not really broadcasting our relationship, but..."

Oliver grabbed her hands that were flying around as she rambled on. "You were jealous," he asked.

Felicity quieted and sealed her lips. Oliver smiled a cheesy smile at her quickly seeing through her display earlier. Oliver's fingers played with the hem off Felicity's shirt skirting along her thighs. "You know there was absolutely nothing between me and Helena right?"

"I know," she nodded. "She was just becoming a bit too annoying and way too bold." 

Oliver walked them backwards as they fell onto the bed. Her dress inched up higher and Oliver's hands covered every exposed inch. "I'm glad you did that. It was pretty hard restraining myself tonight anyway," he whispered as her hands caressed his face. Felicity wrapped her arms around Oliver's neck as she brought her legs up bracketing him. 

"Oliver." She breathed his name as his lips settled on the tender spot of her neck. "You can touch me," she whispered. 

With that command, Oliver complied as his hands slipped under dress caressing her warm skin. His hands began working faster than his mind could register. Soft moans fell from Felicity's lips as his fingers skirted against the edge of her panties. Felicity wiggled underneath him feeling an sensation rising inside her. Oliver's kissing depended and she struggled for a bit to match his intensity.

"Fuck," he muttered. He felt himself straining against his pants just as Felicity's arms tightened around him. "Wait." Oliver stilled his movements and reluctantly pulled away. "We uh..." He pushed himself up off Felicity and stood up looking down at her. "We shouldn't do this," he said. 

Confused lines crinkled in Felicity's forehead before she sat up straightening her dress on herself.  "You're right," she said. 

He scrubbed his face as he sat down next to her. Grabbing her hands he pulled her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her close "I want to. Trust me," he said. "I just would rather not do things...and that...with a house full of our drunken classmates and risk the chance of someone barging in."

"I understand and you're right," Felicity replied. "Plus, we need to discuss things first anyway before jumping into that." She linked her fingers through his squeezing his hand. 

"You claiming me out there was pretty hot though." He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear before pressing a kiss to her earlobe. "I like jealous version of you."

"Whatever," she shrugged him off with a laugh. "Anyway, I think you owe me a dance," he said. 

"I don't dance," he said. 

"Well today you will." Felicity stood up and held her hand out to Oliver.

Oliver grabbed Felicity's hand and began pulling her behind him. They walked back out into the party met by loud pumping music blaring. The living room floor was now filled with people dancing or standing around. Laurel was sitting with Tommy leaning over her. Oliver shot him a thumbs up as Tommy winked back at him. Sara was on the floor dancing with Amaya as they passed. 

Sara moved over to Felicity nudging her slightly with a proud smile. "I guess you didn't need my back up after all." 

"Nope," Felicity smiled. As Oliver snaked his arm around Felicity's waist pulling her into him, she looked up catching Helena's eye from across the way. Felicity gave her a small smile as she turned in Oliver's arms with his hands gravitating down to her hips. 

* * *

"Mom, dad." Oliver knocked on his parent’s ajar door peeking in. His father was propped up in the bed with a book in his hand while his mother was sitting at her vanity. 

Robert took his glasses off nodding towards Oliver. "Yeah?"

"Can Felicity come over tomorrow?"

Moira turned and faced him. "Come over for what?"

"I have a major calculus test coming up. The library at school will be closed for renovations, so we have to find somewhere else to study," he explained. 

"Is she coming over as your girlfriend or as your tutor," Robert asked. 

"What?" He tried to laugh the question off. 

"Son, we know you're dating." Robert laughed to himself before slipping his glasses back on. 

Oliver sighed scrubbing his face. The school knew, so it wouldn't be long before word got around and honestly he was tired of hiding it. "Look I really like her, so I guess that means she is coming over as both."

Robert turned to Moira with an I told you so face. Moira glanced back at him before turning back to Oliver. She knew Oliver and Felicity were an official thing even if she didn't want to admit it. He would come home smelling like flowers and perfume. Definitely nothing like an after practice smell or his usual body wash. She stayed quiet though because she wanted him to come to her on his own. 

Oliver grew tired of his mother's quietness and no answer. "Fine," he shrugged. "I guess I'll go to her place when her mother is at work. Just the two of us. All alone."

"Oliver Jonas Queen," she sniped. She dropped the brush to the vanity as she stood up. Pulling her robe tighter together, she walked up on Oliver. He swallowed his laugh as he looked up at her. "Fine. You can bring your girlfriend by."

"Thank you." Oliver kissed her cheek and laughed as at he turned to leave. 

<\---->

 

Felicity felt nerves tumble around inside of her as she stepped foot back into the Queen’s mansion after being caught with her tongue down Oliver’s throat. Oliver kept reassuring her on the way over that things would go better this time around.

He unlocked the doors and pushed them opened for Felicity.

"Ollie!" The loud patter of small feet came barreling into the foyer.

“Speedy!” Oliver grinned widely as he picked Thea up. He pulled at her pigtails as she tried to push his hands away. She looked at Felicity quietly observing her.

"Thea, this is Felicity.”

“You’re the girl he was kissing,” Thea said as Oliver put her down.

Felicity couldn’t help but laugh at the bluntness of the little girl. “Yes,” she nodded. “And you’re the girl he talks about all the time. And the girl with the giant dollhouse.”

Thea’s eyes widened with excitement at the mention of the dolls. “He told you?”

“Yep,” Felicity smiled. “I hope I can play with them one day.”

“Thea.” Moira appeared in the entranceway. Her eyes traveled from Thea to Felicity. She gave her a small smile, apperceive at how great she was being with Thea at the moment. “You need to be getting out your dance clothes young lady. Your brother has some work to do right now with Felicity. So come on and let them have some privacy.”

Thea groaned loudly stomping her foot. “Will you at least be back to play,” she asked Felicity.

“Of course. Those dolls need us,” Felicity replied.

“Okay.” Thea turned and quickly ran up the flight of stairs. Felicity could see why she had the moniker Speedy now.

“She’s so cute,” Felicity said.

“Yeah she’s alright.”

 <\---->

At some point during their session, Oliver and Felicity were joined by Moira with her own laptop. Oliver decided to just ignore her and let things go. No need to argue about the same thing, trusting him. Tuning her and her watchful eyes out, he focused on the words coming from Felicity's lips.

"Shit!"

Oliver and Felicity's eyes shot up looking at Moira as she tried to hide the curse word with more friendly ones. She banged on her keyboard before frustratingly slapping at the screen. 

"Everything okay," Oliver asked.  

"No," she huffed. "I was working on a report for work and it looks like my computer just died. I can't remember if I actually saved it." 

Felicity could see the frustration building on Moira's face as the black screen stared back at her. She could either stay quiet and let Moira anguish or help her out. She wrestled with her thoughts a little longer before decided to offer her expertise. 

"I can take a look."

Moira looked up surprised at Felicity's voice. She looked from her to Oliver and then back to Felicity. "What do you mean," she asked. 

"I know my way around computers, so I could try to help." Pausing, she noticed Moira's skeptical glance. "But if you..."

Moira held her hand up cutting her off. "By all means, go ahead." Moira stood up and offered Felicity her seat. 

Felicity took the seat and grabbed the laptop. In a matter of seconds, Felicity had it scattered into different parts. Moira let out a small gasp when she noticed the tiny pieces littering the table. 

Oliver and Moira both quietly watched her intently, but Felicity zoned them out, and kept her attention on the computer. Her lip was tucked between her teeth as she worked diligently. She wiped and poked and pried at different parts. Assembling the computer back together, she got it to turn on again. After running a program for about ten minutes, she was halfway there. 

"You should have your IT department update your software. That's where the main problems lie. Once it gets old, it works overtime to stay up to speed. Not to mention, you should have your hard drive cleaned every so often. Make sure the normal little viruses that crop up are taken care of."

With a few more tap on the keys, Felicity got the report to pop up onscreen. She turned the laptop back towards Moira. "Is this it?"

Moira eyes scanned the screen as she tried to hide her astonishment. "Yes, that is it. Thank you very much."

"Luckily it was set on auto save, so it's still there. And you're welcome." 

Felicity got up from the seat turning it back over to Moira. She walked back to her seat next to Oliver as he smiled up at her. 

"That was like...amazing," Oliver said as she sat down. He stared at her in astonishment. She had told him of her tech skills and they talked about them from to time to time, but this was actually his first time experiencing it up close. 

Moira sat back standing in awe of what this girl had just done. "When you said you knew your way around computers, I wasn't expecting that," Moira said. "Where did you learn those skills?"

"My father had a thing for computers and technology. So I followed him around and picked up on it," Felicity explained. 

Moira picked up on the past tense usage in the sentence. "Had," she questioned. 

"Yeah had," Felicity nodded. "He left when I was eight, so he's no longer in the picture. After that I started reading lots of books and just messing around and eventually became good at it." 

"Oh." Moira regretted asking the question when she saw the quick flash of sadness in Felicity's eyes that she quickly blinked away. "Well this a very impressive skill set. I'm amazed."

"Thank you," Felicity said again with a smile. She ducked her head and went back to working on her own work.

Moira sat in stunned silence at what had just occurred. A fifteen-year-old had just left her speechless. Maybe Robert was right and she had prejudged this young lady a little too quickly, and there was a lot more than what met the eye to the girl that had grabbed her son’s attention.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our favorite couple staking claim on one another and Moira realizing Felicity is not just some girl. Thoughts????


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter just did not want to come out right, but alas here it is even if I'm not too pleased with it. I hope you all enjoy though. :)

Oliver was stretched across Felicity's bed resting on his stomach with Felicity sitting on his back. She was currently engrossed in her assigned reading for literature while he studied his playbook. 

He could hear her awe at something she read and he playfully rolled his eyes. Next to computers, her favorite past time was reading. She was like the other average teenage girls that loved the romance novels too. She had told him on their way to her place how excited she was now that the class was studying Shakespeare. 

"Aren't all of those stories kind of rooted in some form of tragedy?" He thought back to name the stories he could think of off the top of his head. "Romeo and Juliet, tragedy. Hamlet, Julius Caesar, tragedy. You catch my drift," he smirked. 

She dropped the book against his head leading to an exaggerated ouch from him. "You know your Shakespeare, huh?" She closed the book and sat it to the side. She trailed her fingers along the collar of his shirt. "They're tragically beautiful," she countered. "It's almost like you're being transported to a different world when you're reading it."

She looked over his shoulder at the plays scribbled in the pad. It held lines, symbols, drawings and words that she had absolutely no meaning to her. 

"Just like when you're reading your plays. You can see yourself on the field doing it right."

Not only could he see himself executing the plays, he could see himself as a pro. "Yeah I can."

"It's sort of the same for me, I can see the scenes playing out in my mind, so I'm essentially living in a different time and place you know."

Oliver nodded understanding her analogy. "But you're still a nerd." Oliver pushed himself up suddenly throwing Felicity against her mattress in the process as she yelped. She rested against the pillow as her hair fanned out around her. "A cute nerd though," he clarified as he propped himself over her. 

"You like it," she responded with a teasing pout. She titled her head up and he teased her in his own way turning and kissing the corner of her lips before pulling back. 

"I do," he whispered.

She grinned and hooked her forefinger inside the chain dangling from his neck and pulled him closer. His messy hair brushed against her forehead tickling her skin. She tilted her head up again and this time he leaned down to connect their lips. 

Felicity brought her legs up on each side giving Oliver a more comfortable position to slip between them. She released her hold on the chain as the books on the bed tumbled to the floor as they got lost in each other's lips. Her hands tussled his messy hair and she ran her fingers through it. She latched on to the hair at the back of his head as Oliver deepened the kiss. Her hands roamed down Oliver's back as she sucked down on his tongue. 

Oliver let his lips mark the familiar path from her hers to her jaw, down to her neck before sucking down on her collarbone. Felicity's grip on his waist tightened as her nails dug into his side through the gray tee he was wearing. 

Oliver pressed against Felicity as she let out a moan into his mouth. He swallowed her moan as their kiss grew sloppy. Felicity's hips rolled against his as he braced his palms against her bed. Oliver thrusted into her causing friction to ignite between causing Felicity to arch off the bed.

"Oliver," Felicity sighed. 

Oliver ran his hands up her smooth thighs causing the uniform skirt to bunch up at her waist more. He felt the same feeling he had when they were at Tommy's party. He pulled back slightly. Their breathing was labored as they both stayed quiet looking into the other's eyes. Once again they were inching into territory that still had yet to be discussed. 

Suddenly the sound of the front door opening startled them both. Felicity's name rang out soon after. Donna was home.

"Shit." Felicity shoved Oliver in his chest knocking him backwards as he almost fell off her bed. He caught himself at the last second as his heart pounded.

"I thought you said she was working late," he whispered.

She shoved her skirt back down. "That's what she said," Felicity whispered back. 

Jumping off the bed, she grabbed her phone. There were two missed texts from her mom saying she was on the way home early after all. She didn't hear her phone buzz in the middle of the kissing, moaning and panting. Felicity looked in the mirror and saw how disheveled she looked. Her skin was flushed pink, lips red and hair all over her head. As she tried to make herself more acceptable, she looked over at Oliver, who didn’t fare much better. His hair was messy and his clothes were in disarray.

Oliver looked down at himself knocking at the wrinkles just as Felicity's eyes fell down to the very noticeable bulge in his pants.

"Dammit!" He shifted on his feet not knowing what to do exactly. Getting caught in your girlfriend's bedroom with a hard on was definitely not ideal.

"Sorry," Felicity grimaced. Apologizing seemed like the right thing to do since she was the cause of it. Quickly hatching a plan, Felicity grabbed Oliver's hand pulling him down on her bed. Locating a textbook, she picked it up and dropped it in his lap. "There, that should hide it at least."

Running her hands over her hair and clothes, she tiptoed to her door and opened it slightly. She ran back to her bed and hopped it in and picked up a book. "Open your book and act as natural as possible," she whispered to Oliver.

Oliver ran his hands through his hair trying to will the strands back into place as Donna's voice grew closer.

"Felicity, what are you doing in here? I picked up some takeout on the way...Oh!" Donna stopped in her tracks at the sight of Oliver sitting at the foot of Felicity's bed.

Felicity looked up and saw her mother cross her arms over her chest and start surveying the room. Her bed covers were a bit wrinkled and Felicity hoped that maybe it was the guilt making it look worse than it actually was.

"Hey mom," Felicity quickly spoke. "My phone was dead so I didn't see your texts until right before you got here."

"I see," Donna nodded. She turned her gaze towards Oliver.

"Oliver and I were studying," Felicity tried to explain.

"I see," Donna repeated. "Hello Oliver."

"Hi, Ms. Smoak." He gave her a slight wave.

Donna laughed to herself. Oliver looked like he had swallowed a bowl of lemons. Safe to say he did not have a great poker face.

"Ms. Smoak? What did we say about that name? It makes me feel very old."

"Right. Donna," he corrected himself with a small smile.

"Oliver, are you staying for dinner," she asked.

"No ma'am," he quickly answered. "I should be getting home anyway. I just needed Felicity's expertise with a troublesome math section."

Donna looked down at the textbook Oliver was holding which was a science book. "I see. Well, I will let you say your goodbyes," she said as she turned away from Felicity's door.

<\---->

"Felicity! Come on before the food gets cold."

Felicity reluctantly trudged out of her room. She didn't know which version of Donna she was going to get and that's what worried her the most.

Once in the kitchen, she grabbed a plate and deposited some rice and teriyaki chicken on it as Donna sat at her end of the table.

"Vegetables," Donna said.

Felicity dropped a spoonful of the broccoli mixture on her plate trying not to gag at the sight of them. They ate in silence until Donna finally went into her spill.

"Felicity, now I know I may not be not the strictest parent or one that refuses to acknowledge that you're a blossoming teenager with desires..."

"Oh God." Felicity sunk down into the chair as the fork dropped from her hands. The talk was coming. The awkwardness was coming.

"Nothing happened mom, I promise. I wouldn't do something like that here and Oliver's not like that." Which was true. She respected her mother. Yes, she engaged in heavy makeout sessions, and essential dry humping in the room, but the thought of having sex under her mother's roof was enough to make her breakout in hives.

"I believe you. But when that time does come, I want you to take adequate precautions." Donna was not naive or living in a haze where she thought her daughter would be some form of a nun her entire life. She knew sex would eventually happen for her. Even if she was not particularly happy about that development, she would swallow it better knowing that her daughter was prepared.

"Mom," Felicity groaned.

"I'm serious Felicity Megan Smoak."

Her whole name was used. That definitely meant serious business. "There are many forms of protection. Condoms, male or female. Then there are more 21st century practices. Speaking of, this weekend, you and I will be making a visit to the doctor this weekend."

"Doctor," Felicity questioned. "For what..." Before the question could even get out of her mouth, she had already answered her own question. Birth control. "Mom, I don't..."

"Felicity." Donna's tone was shifting into don't argue with me territory. "You're fifteen, almost sixteen. A perfectly normal age. Not to mention, I practically caught you in your room doing a lot more than studying with your boyfriend, so we're going and that's final."

Felicity stayed quiet and pushed her food around in her plate. Donna reached over and laid her hand atop of Felicity's. "Just don't move too fast please. I was about your age when I met your father and well, we both know how that turned out."

Felicity pulled her hand away swallowing thickly as her mother continued. Felicity drowned her mother out and stabbed at one of the vegetables in her plate. She knew the story of her mother and father well enough and didn't need to hear it again.

"I remember when dad left mom," she mumbled. "I prefer not to be reminded." Felicity chopped down on the broccoli floret hanging on her fork. She hated the way the bitterness sounded rolling off her tongue because her mother meant well. It's just that this talk always brought up open wounds.

Her father was a touchy subject. A subject that she didn't talk about, but he was like a nagging thought in the back of her mind at times. When she would be working on a computer and enhancing some form of tech, she would remember he was the one who started her on that path. When she would be with Oliver, and he would talk about his parents, she would be reminded that she only had one. Now her mother was in some awkward way linking her father and her relationship with Oliver and that was not something she wanted to hear.

* * *

_**[Gala - Felicity, Sara& Laurel ](https://www.polyvore.com/untitled_75/set?id=226927936) // [Gala - Donna, Moira & Thea](https://www.polyvore.com/untitled_76/set?id=226929600)** _

Oliver stood on the balcony of Starling City's Plaza. He checked his watch to see what time it was. About 30 minute before things were to start. The annual QC fall giving party was about to start. Every year, his parents would throw a huge gala to signal the start of the fall season. It would kick off most of their fundraising efforts. He invited Felicity and Donna, now he was just waiting on them to arrive.

"Sara and Laurel just got here. Where's your girl?"

Oliver glanced back at Tommy as he came up behind him.

"She texted and said that she's on the way. She's with her mother," he answered.

"Oh." Tommy nodded. "The mother that almost caught you two going to second base," he joked. "The two of you definitely have to get better at sneaking around."

Oliver rolled his eyes before leaning down on the rail. It had been an off week for him and Felicity. At first, Oliver chalked it up to his practice schedule being hectic, but then he realized things had soured after Felicity's mother almost caught them.

Tommy leaned down next to his friend staring out alongside him. "What's up man? You've been off this week. Something happen that you didn't tell me?"

"No," he shook his head. "I mean we did almost do things, but were stopped. In the process, she's sort of pulled back you could say. I just hope I didn't scare her away by moving too quickly," he said. Maybe he was overreacting. He and Felicity didn't have to spend every waking moment together or talking to one another, but he liked their routine. Maybe it was just the freshness of their relationship wearing off.

"Quickly," Tommy scoffed with a light laugh. "You and I have two very different definitions of quick."

"I'm serious here man."

"I am too," Tommy said. "The two of you are approaching what, a little over three months together? By standard calculations, that's pretty slow." 

"Well what else could it be," Oliver asked. 

"She's a girl," Tommy said. He stated it like it was the obvious answer. "They go through things like this. Hell, Laurel and I aren't even officially together, but I have been on the receiving end of her shutdowns where she only talks to her girlfriends. Welcome to the world of romance my friend."

"You have all the answers, but still no girlfriend. I may be the bigger fool for listening to you all the time," Oliver said. 

"Yet, I don't have the girl just yet," Tommy corrected him.

Right on cue, Laurel and Sara walked through the door leading to the balcony and joined them.

"I'm starving already," Sara whined. 

Tommy pressed a kiss to Laurel's temple. "Me too," he huffed. "Main reason I hate these events is because they starve you all night and then give you scraps for dinner."

Sara nodded in agreement. "Not often that I agree with Merlyn here, but he is right, We’re forced to get all dressed up and then starved to death. I can do without the cute plates. I would like real food."

"The two of you do nothing but whine and complain," Laurel commented. 

"I’m going to hunt down pre dinner snacks. Anyone want to join,” Tommy offered.

Sara held her hand up and quickly walked off.

“No. I'm good,” Oliver declined.  

"Me too," Laurel said.  

Laurel walked up beside Oliver and nudged him with her shoulder. “So I hear the parents are meeting tonight. Are you nervous," Laurel asked. 

"Kind of," he sighed. "I mean my parents are kind of serious and Felicity's mom is more relaxed and open minded. I just hope they don't clash and then Felicity and I are left in an uncomfortable place. Even more so than now."

"Aww." Laurel poked at his face. "You and Felicity are good, trust me. She just needed some girl time," Laurel said. 

"Girl time?" Oliver laughed lightly. "That's basically what Tommy said. You two quoting each other now? Must be getting real serious."

Laurel rolled her eyes shoving Oliver. "When your best friend gets serious, maybe then we can talk. Until then, no," she said. "Anyway, I'll leave you here to brood alone until Felicity gets here."

<\---->

Oliver's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to see that Felicity had texted and let him know they were there. He walked out into the ballroom to see Felicity and Donna walk in and shed their coats relinquishing them over to one of the hostesses. Making his way over to them, he couldn't help but gawk at Felicity's appearance. He hadn't witnessed her this dolled up. The way her curls fell against her shoulders with the hint of purple shining through made her look gorgeous in the light. 

"Felicity." He looked over at Donna with a smile. "Hi, Ms...Donna," he quickly corrected himself when she playfully narrowed her eyes. "I'm glad you could make it," he said. "You look very nice by the way."

"Don't worry, I'll give you two some space," she said. "No need to charm me." She gave him a quick wink as patted his shoulder as she moved past him. 

Oliver's face reddened as Felicity laughed to herself while Donna walked off heading for the bar. Looking back at Oliver, Felicity noticed just how nice he looked in suit. This was her first time seeing him dressed for such an occasion. "You look very nice," she said. “Let’s talk.” Before he could respond, she grabbed his hand and pulled him down a secluded area.

"You look nice too,” he said as he followed her. “I really like this color on you." The pink color stood out against her skin. Giving her skin a flushed glow. It reminded him of the way she looked when he kissed her senseless. “Everything alright,” he asked. 

"Yeah," she nodded. "Sorry if I freaked you out these last few days and made you think you had done something." Her fingers played with the frilly tassel hanging on her clutch. "You definitely didn't."

"I won't lie," Oliver said. "I was a bit worried."

"Sorry," she apologized again feeling a bit of regret. "It's habit," Felicity explained. "When something is bothering me or I'm a bit stressed, I sort of shut down and keep people at arms length. It was just some old issues that creeped up regarding my dad and I was a feeling a bit of self pity."

She usually sulked to herself, so this having a boyfriend and someone to go to was new territory. She didn't realize how unfair she was being until Sara called her out on it while she was hiding away at their place. It wasn't intentional and without even really trying, she had shut Oliver out. 

Early on, Oliver had learned that her father was a sore subject for Felicity. If she mentioned him in passing, he didn't push her to elaborate on it or talk more. He had no experience in that area, so what could he offer other than a listening ear. "You want to talk about it, or him," he asked. 

"No," she shook her head. "I'm over it. Plus, I'm here to be with you and enjoy the festivities."

"You know you can always come to me though," Oliver said. "I mean if something's bothering you, I'm here. I'm not just a good kisser, I'm a good listener too."

Felicity erupted into a deep laugh. "I missed your kisses," she whispered. 

She walked into his body and rested her head against his chest. Oliver wrapped his arms around her hugging her tightly. She pulled back slightly and pushed herself up on her toes. She pressed her lips fully against him kissing him. "I'm sorry and thank you," she briefly said before kissing him again. 

“I thought I might’ve gotten you in trouble with your mother too,” Oliver said.

“I think I would’ve preferred punishment over what I ended up getting,” Felicity said.

Oliver looked at her with a bit of confusion. “Huh? What happened?”

“I got ‘the talk’ again, which is always so lovely," she said as Oliver laughed. "Then we finished that out with a very exciting trip to the clinic for birth control,” Felicity explained to him.

Oliver coughed at those last two words. Small words that held so many implications. They would have to have a real talk eventually, but this was not the place to do so.

“Exactly,” Felicity sighed. “Loads of fun." 

Before they could elaborate on the topic at hand, the sound of Thea's feet and voice quickly approaching made them pause. "Ollie!"

He turned just as she ran into his legs sliding in her sleek dress shoes. She bounced off him from the impact as Oliver's hands flew out to catch her. Felicity laughed to herself, seeing just how she got the nickname Speedy.

"What do you want munchkin," he asked.

Thea happily waved at Felicity and she waved back. "Hey Thea you look so pretty. I really like your teddy bear earrings," she told her.

"Thank you. They're new," Thea said as she started played with them. "Ollie, mom told me to come find you. She said that you are supposed to be doing something."

Oliver nodded before turning to Felicity. "Oh yeah, introducing your mom to my parents," he said. 

A brief look of worry flashed across Felicity's eyes. She blinked it away quickly knowing that nothing could be done to avoid the inevitable. "I'll go get my mother," she said before walking off.

Felicity found her mother nursing a glass of sparkling water at the bar. "Enjoying yourself already," she asked walking up on her.

"You and Oliver make up," Donna asked immediately. 

"What," she asked surprised. "We weren't fighting..." As she tried to brush off Donna's question, it only made it more obvious. "Yes," Felicity sighed admitting defeat. 

"I knew what was bothering you these last couple of days Felicity. Not much you can hide from me sweetie," Donna said. She placed her now empty glass on the counter. "Me telling you to be careful and not dive head first was not me telling you that Oliver is your father. It was me being your mother and giving necessary advice. I'm not trying to damper your little puppy love."

"Okay." Felicity grabbed her hand and pulled Donna behind her. She didn't want to delve into anymore relationship with her mother. She had been traumatized enough. "It's time for you to meet the Queens. Please try to behave," she pleaded.

Felicity found Oliver standing with his parents. They literally looked like they were cut out of a magazine and placed perfectly inside the ballroom. 

"Mom and dad, this is Felicity's mother, Donna." Oliver introduced them and Felicity was beyond happy that he took the initiative because she suddenly couldn't talk.

Robert took Donna's hand and placed a kiss on it. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise." Moira offered Donna her hand.

Donna accepted it giving it a slight shake. "Thank you for inviting me," she said. "Fall is such a festive time of the year and the giving spirit is overwhelming."

Oliver and Felicity exchanged glances as nervous smiles mirrored their faces.

“Donna," Robert called her name starting the conversation. "Did Felicity tell you about how she saved the day for Queen Consolidated,” Robert asked.

“Saved the day?” Donna looked at Felicity confused. “No, she did not.”

Felicity wanted to sulk and slither away with the conversation being focused on her. Something she definitely did not want. Robert explained what happened with Moira’s computer and the steps Felicity took to save it. Felicity was shocked he even knew about it. Moira must have really went into details about the situation.

“My wife sung your praises, and rightfully so,” he said to Felicity. “That report you salvaged was very important. So everyone at QC thanks you."

Beside Felicity, Donna smiled from ear to ear. "That's my baby girl." She pinched Felicity's cheek and squeezed her jaw. 

"Mom." Felicity brushed her hand away trying not to die of full blown embarrassment. "It was nothing really," she shrugged.

"Don't be embarrassed," Moira spoke up. "It's a mother's duty to flaunt their children. Also, don't downplay your skills. When baseball season starts, I fully expect to sing Oliver's praises."

Oliver leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Wait until baseball season starts, she can get very loud," Oliver added. 

Felicity eyes bulged. She didn't exactly see the stoic Moira Queen as the rowdy sports mother type. 

"If you all don't mind, before the festivities get underway, I want to briefly introduce Felicity to one of our leaders at QC." Robert nodded across the way to a tall black gentleman with a clean shaven head. The man was talking with someone else donned in a tailored suit. "His name is Walter Steele. I told him your suggestions for the IT department and he said he would love to meet you."

“Oh,” Felicity stuttered. “Sure.” Felicity followed Robert across the ballroom floor.

"Oliver,” his mother called his attention. “Go find your sister and make sure she's not stealing from the chocolate fountain again please."

The parties dispersed leaving Donna and Moira alone with one another. 

"Everything looks wonderful," Donna observed out loud. 

"Yes,” Moira agreed. “Did you work on anything. Felicity mentioned that you worked with Cat Grant, so..."

"No, I didn't actually," Donna answered. "I did see some of the plans though, so seeing everything completed is nice."

"Cat is the best. I always go to her when I need to host something. There is no one better."

Silence between the two mothers settled in. Each trying to determine which was the best way to steer the conversation. A waiter passed by and Moira plucked two champagne flutes from the tray. She handed one over to Donna and she happily accepted it. They talked about generic topics first; the weather, work, hobbies...general interests.

"Felicity is a remarkable young girl," Moira offered. 

Donna swallowed her sip of champagne. "Thank you. I'm very proud of how she's turning out.”

"I'll admit, I was a little troubled by their relationship in the beginning," Moira said truthfully. She let the outer package of Felicity deter her. She jumped to conclusions and judged her. But she was so far turning out to be exactly the opposite of what she was worried about.”

"My daughter has always been one that doesn't flaunt her capabilities, but when it comes time to prove people wrong, she doesn't hesitate. I'm sure you won't be the last to underestimate her,” Donna said. "Oliver is a very respectable young man," Donna continued offering up a compliment. You and Robert have done a great job raising him. I can tolerate my baby girl growing up and dating a lot better knowing that she chose a gentleman.”

“We tried to instill values and respectability in him even at a young age. I don’t want to sound shallow, but coming from a family like ours, it easy to get lost in your last name and notoriety. Even as a teenager, he’s adamant about building himself up and going against the stereotypical behavior. I can only hope it continues.”

Donna nodded quietly taking in Moira's words. After Felicity told her briefly about Moira, she was prepared to meet a stuffy, stuck up and judgmental woman. Talking to her now, she could see that she was just a mother like her. Always looking out for her child's wellbeing. "We both know how hard relationships are anyway, but when you add in hormones, school drama and things can get messy. Hopefully, they both continue to bring out the best in each other," she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts??? Let me know them all because I love every bit of feedback. It feeds the soul! xoxoxo


	8. Chapter 8

"I know practically nothing about sports," Felicity said as she and Sara stood near the bleachers and across the way the baseball team was in the middle of practice. The sun was shining bright out. "I didn't think it would be this warm out today," she murmured. It was fall now and she expected far cooler temperatures.

"You were the one who wanted to come out here and stare at your boyfriend," Sara responded. 

"I was here to help you," Felicity objected. “They came after us.”

"Yeah great help you were,” Sara said as she began to pack up her equipment. “Wipe the drool off your mouth by the way," she teased. 

Felicity rolled her eyes and picked up the camera cover for Sara handing it to her. "See, helping," she smiled. 

Sara snatched the cover from her. "You're not the only admirer out here by the way," Sara whispered. 

Felicity turned slightly looking at Helena with the rest of the cheerleaders on the other side. She and Helena hadn't had any words since Tommy's party weeks ago. They passed each other in the school halls, Helena would give a cold glare, but other than that, nothing. Felicity was not the least bit worried about her. "She's a blimp on my radar. Oliver’s too," she scoffed. 

"I just want my one chance with her," Sara whispered. 

Felicity turned back to the practice field. She caught Oliver's eyesight and he shot a wink her way. A blushing grin immediately spread across her face as Sara gagged next to her. 

On the field, Coach Diggle's loud voice rang out. "Twenty-minute break," he yelled. 

"Thank God," Tommy mumbled as he stalked off the mound. 

Oliver laughed rolling his eyes. He waved Felicity over as he grabbed a water bottle and towel off the bench. He met her as he walked to the other side of the fence. 

"Coming to see me Smoak," Tommy whispered.

"You wish," Oliver said shoving him out of the way. Oliver draped the towel around his neck as he dipped slightly giving Felicity a quick kiss on the lips.

“Hey,” Felicity smiled shyly as Oliver pulled away. "Hello to you too Tommy," she said to his retreating figure. 

"Surprised to see you out here," he said. 

"Sara came to take some pictures for yearbook, so I tagged along and thought I would come see you before we left."

"And? You liked what you saw," he asked with a grin. 

Felicity stepped back resting against the fence. "You look good out here. I mean I don't really know what I'm looking at, but you look good doing it."

Oliver laughed at her limited knowledge. He was still in the process of slowly teaching her things regarding baseball and pretty much any other sport. he took off his cap and swiped at the hair stuck to his forehead.

"You're really sweaty," she observed. The sweat was glistening on his skin as he tugged at the collar if his uniform.

"Yeah coach is working us to death.” Just as he said that Diggle walked up behind him.

“What was that,” he asked. “You want me to amp it up? Is that what I’m hearing?”

“No,” Oliver quickly answered.

Felicity gave him a small wave as he acknowledged her with a small nod. He sported a small as he looked from her to Oliver. A stark contrast to the roaring person marching across the field shouting commands. It was interesting to see the two sides of him. Every encounter she had with John, well Coach Diggle, as he said to call him had been friendly, so the way he could switch it up was a testament to him.

“Felicity,” he spoke. "Coming to try out," he jokingly asked.

"Trust me. You don't want me anywhere near this field," she responded. "I'll stick to the academic side of things."

John smiled and patted Oliver on the back. “Your academics are keeping this one ahead of the game, so I guess I’ll let you stay there. Actually might suggest having other players seek your help.”

Oliver quickly spoke up objecting to that suggestion. “Don’t want to overload her Coach,” he said.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it,” John smirked. “Good seeing you Felicity.” He turned back to Oliver. “Remember, be mindful of the time,” he said walking off.

Oliver grabbed Felicity’s hand pulling her closer to him. He pressed a kiss to her temple. “You’re staying over Sara and Laurel’s this weekend right?”

“Yeah.” Felicity looked over at Sara standing with her arms crossed waiting on her. “What are your plans? Mischief with Tommy?”

“My parents apparently have some emergency out of town meeting for work this weekend so it’s just Thea and I.”

“You keeping Thea,” she laughed. “That’s something I need to see.”

“She actually has a sleepover this weekend. So the only thing I need to do is get her ready for that tonight.”

“Well I’ll still wish you good luck because you’ll need it. Anyway, I should go. I can feel Sara shooting daggers into me and I should probably leave before you have to run suicides again.”

“Are you ever going to let that go,” he groaned.

“Nope,” she smiled. She threw her arms around his neck pulling him into a kiss. “See you later. Also, text me if you need any help.”

* * *

**_[Manor - Felicity & Thea](url) _ **

Not even an hour after getting to Laurel and Sara’s for the night, Felicity got a SOS message from Oliver. Turns out he needed her help after all.

As Felicity exited Laurel's car, she adjusted her bag on her shoulder. She took the few steps up leading to the door, and before she could knock, she could hear commotion from inside. Putting her ear to the door, she heard Oliver yelling Thea's name. She could hear the sound of small feet shuffling and what she assumed were Oliver's chasing her. She twisted the knob finding that it was unlocked so she stepped inside.

Oliver stood in the middle of the foyer with a laughing Thea around his hip and a brush in his hand.

"Hey." He looked up very exasperated letting out a sigh of relief at the sight of his girlfriend.

She shut the door behind her. "The door was unlocked, so I just..."

"Great," he said. "I'm so glad you're here."

Felicity tilted her head and waved at the upside down Thea. Thea wrestled herself away from Oliver grip. Felicity laughed to herself as she took Thea's outfit in. Not to mention, her hair was in a very messy pile on top of her head.

"Oliver, her hair. What did you do to it," she asked.

"Nothing. She won't let me do anything," he reasoned. He definitely wasn't a mastermind at doing girls hair, but he could at least achieve a ponytail. But when he tried, Thea squirmed, fussed and broke free from him. He had just managed to wrestle her into his arms when Felicity walked in. He looked at Felicity with pleading eyes. "Can you help?"

"Can you braid," Thea interrupted.

Felicity held out her hand for the brush. "I sure can, but we're going to need more than a brush."

"Speedy, why don't you go ahead get the stuff. We'll meet you up in your room."

She nodded and took off up the stairs as quick as her feet allowed her to go.

Oliver propped his hands on his hips taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh at the quietness.

"The outfit," Felicity questioned. "I take it she dressed herself."

"Correct," he nodded. "She's big into Hello Kitty, bright colors and boots right now. My mom forces her to match, so I decided to let her have her way."

Oliver pulled her into a hug and then kissed her lips quickly. "Thanks for coming by the way."

"No problem." She leaned into him briefly. "Now I have hair to tame." She grabbed his hand pulling him behind her. "Come with, so you can learn."

"At dance class, Hannah Grace had two big braids," Thea explained with her hands. 

Felicity nodded assuming that Hannah Grace was a friend or someone that would be at this sleepover  
“Her sister did them.” The last statement came out like an annoyance as she looked over at Oliver.

“Sorry Speedy,” he whispered.

"I have an idea." Felicity picked Thea up quickly realizing she was a lot heavier than what met the eye. She sat Thea down on her stool in front of her vanity set. Seriously, what six-year-old had a real vanity set? 

"I can give you two braids, but I can make them look really cool. Way better than Hannah Grace," she whispered.  

As Felicity’s hands went to work on Thea’s hair, Oliver sat back on the foot of Thea’s bed and watched the two of them interact. Thea talked excitedly and Felicity listened to every word patiently. He usually didn’t let many people get close to Thea. When he was with McKenna, she had asked, but he always put off introducing them because he knew they weren’t going to amount to anything. But he felt like he and Felicity had a chance at something real, so he was happy to see them really hitting it off.

"Felicity, you got a nickname," Thea asked. "Mines is Speedy and he is Ollie. What's yours?" 

Felicity paused with the comb in her hand. She thought for a moment trying to think of any names she might have. "I don't think I have one," she finally answered. Her mother called her baby girl or pistachio, which she definitely hated, but she didn't have a designated one. 

"I'll think of one," Thea said confidently. "Did you play with a lot of dolls when you were little," she asked next. 

"Nope," she answered. 

"What?" Thea's button nose scrunched up in confusion. "Why not?"

"Thea is your mouth not tired yet," Oliver asked in a teasing voice. 

"She's fine," Felicity quickly said waving him off. 

There was a time where Felicity wished for a little sister or brother before her dad left. Someone to talk to, someone to look out for, someone to just to h Then once she got older, she realized it had been for the best because it would've just been another child with his or her heart broken like hers. Thea was like a breath of fresh air, so she welcomed all the questions.

She turned back to Thea to answer her question. "I played with computers and things like that. Not many dolls." Confusion clouded Thea's face as she tried to wrap her mind around why a girl wouldn't want to play with dolls.

"Who did you play with?"

"Uh...my dad," Felicity answered after a slight pause.

“Oh well that’s boring,” Thea said.

Felicity erupted into a laugh at the bluntness of Thea’s disdain.

“It’s not boring. I promise.” Felicity reasoned with Thea as she shook her head. “I’ll show you some cool things one day soon and you’ll see.”

“Felicity, don’t teach my sister how to hack,” Oliver spoke up.

Felicity covered Thea’s ears and shot Oliver a glance in the mirror. “Hacking is such an ugly word,” she said.

“What’s hacking,” Thea asked once Felicity removed her hands.

“Just a hobby,” Felicity said.

"Yeah right," Oliver scoffed with a laugh.

"And I'll share my dolls with you," Thea said. 

"Thank you," Felicity smiled.

Felicity made sure there was not one strand of hair out of place before she deemed Felicity was finished. "There you go!" Felicity turned Thea around to the mirror. Thea's eyes widened in excitement as she took her hair in. 

"You like," Felicity asked. 

Thea nodded happily. She jumped down and ran over for Oliver to see.

“You’re beautiful Speedy,” he said. "Now can we get you to your sleepover? Please."

* * *

Oliver let out a sigh of relief as he got back inside his car. There was a quietness in the car. A quietness he welcomed now that his sister was just dropped off at her sleepover.  

"You're going to miss her," Felicity said interrupting the silence.

"I will," he shrugged. "But this quietness is something I welcome right now." 

"You adorable sap," Felicity teased him.

Oliver looked at his watch seeing it was almost eight o’clock. "I can take you back to the Lance's." Oliver paused with his fingers drumming the steering wheel. "Or you can spend the night with me," he offered slowly. 

Felicity’s eyebrow ticked up at the suggestion. "You sure?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Just you and me. Raisa won't be showing up either. I figured we could just hang out since things have been kind of busy. We can talk, watch a movie and chill. Just you and me. What do you say?”

Felicity took out her phone to send Sara and Laurel a quick update. "I say to your place it is."

<\---->

Felicity kicked her shoes off and climbed onto the bed next to Oliver. Oliver threw his arm around her edging her to come even closer. "Are you sure you want to watch this," he asked. 

They were about to watch one of the Saw movies. Scary movies already freaked her out, and you add in blood, torture and gore, it's a total recipe for disaster. 

Swallowing her fears, she nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure," she said with fake confidence. 

"Okay." The opening credits started rolling as he situated the popcorn in front of them. 

Throughout the movie she jumped at pop out scenes, grimaced during the most gruesome parts all while digging her nails into Oliver's arm. 

Just as someone in the movie screamed, Felicity jumped and sent the popcorn flying into the air everywhere. She clutched the empty bowl to her chest as Oliver stared at her. 

Oliver picked up the remote pausing the tv. He turned to her and grabbed one of the kernels out of her hair popping it into his mouth. He looked at her reddening face and broke into a deep laugh. 

Felicity punched him in the chest. "Shut up jerk." Felicity shook her head and ran her hands through her hair as the kernels fell down to her lap. "Stop laughing at me."

"Why didn't you just say you were this afraid," Oliver asked. 

"Because you wanted to watch this and I assumed I could handle it if I watched it with you."

"And you knew I would be here to protect you," he grinned reaching his arms out for her.

She rolled her eyes playfully pushing him away. Swinging her legs off the bed, she brushed her lap off. "Better clean this mess up. I don't want Raisa to ban me from coming over."

Oliver grabbed her hand pulling her back into the bed "It can wait," he said. "Also, we don't have to finish the movie. We can just talk."

"Okay." Stretching out, Felicity let out a sigh. 

Oliver turned his body inward to Felicity propping himself up on his elbow. "Earlier with Thea, I’m sorry if she brought up any bad memories or anything. I know she asked a lot of questions."

“Hmmm?" Felicity tilted her head up looking at him briefly. "Oh you mean questions about my father," she concluded. "It's totally fine."

"You don't talk about him much, so I try not to push or anything. But if you ever want to share, I'm all ears."

"There's not much to say or share really.” She said there wasn’t much to say, but then found herself opening up to Oliver. “He left when I was eight. He just packed up, left and never returned. I didn't really understand what happened at the time. Part of me thought he would come back until days, months, an d eventually years passed and he never returned. I finally accepted that he was gone forever. Haven't heard from him since."

Oliver grabbed Felicity’s hand linking their fingers together. "I'm sorry," he said softly. 

"Thanks. Once he left, it was just my mother and I. I was used to just being by myself for so long that this is sort of like a shock to me."

"This? You mean?”

“Everything,” she said. Felicity initially thought she would hate Starling. She soon learned there wasn’t anything to hate.

"You and Thea, seeing siblings be so close is nice. Same with Laurel and Sara and it's almost like Sara and I were separated at birth. And Tommy is great as well."

Oliver cleared his throat. “I think you maybe forgetting a very important aspect.”

Felicity shook her head and swiped a piece of hair behind her ear. “No, I think everything was covered."

Oliver whispered. "Wow that hurt."

Felicity sat up with a laugh.“I’m joking. You’re an awesome boyfriend.”

“Thank you.”

"I do have a confession though," she said.

"Uh oh. What?"

"I thought you were a jock," she whispered.

"I knew it," Oliver groaned. "I knew it. That's why you initially said no."

"Can you blame me? Everything was star player Queen this or that, not to mention you sent Sara to ask. But then you came to me and practically begged and I really liked seeing you grovel," she grinned. 

Oliver dragged his fingers down Felicity's arms "You know I had to run laps for you."

Felicity leaned down pressing her lips against his. "I'm honored," she whispered. 

"Yeah my body didn't appreciate it,"

"I appreciate your body though."

"I'm sure you do," he mumbled in between kisses. 

Felicity smiled proudly. She liked these moments with them. Quiet moments where they got to really talk to one another. "I wrongly judged you, but you have been proving me wrong every day," she said.

"People do think I'm a jock or someone like Dale, but I'm far from it. I know I've lucked up with who my parents are and the things I've been given. I want to prove to people that I'm more than just their last name. I want my hard work to speak for itself. I want to make it on my own and be my own person you know."

"Yeah," Felicity nodded understanding. "I don’t get the jock treatment, but I get assumptions based on my style alone. It throws them off. They assume I’m just some chick that cares about nothing in the world and doesn’t have much going on upstairs. I don't even know if I'm going to keep it this way forever or what, but I do like the satisfaction I get when I prove them wrong or wow them."

Oliver's phone buzzed against his night stand. He picked up it and quickly silenced it ignoring Tommy's text before turning back to Felicity  as she started the next conversation.

"You know there is one thing we haven't really addressed yet between us," Felicity started. "Sex."

"Yeah," Oliver said. He suddenly felt a nervous energy engulf him. "It's kind of been like the elephant in the room with us. I think everyone else has pretty much implied it, but we haven't."

"And with things getting more serious, we definitely should," Felicity said.

Oliver nodded in agreement. 

"This hasn't really come up before," she said. She felt herself getting flushed "But it’s something you should now. I'm a virgin."

Oliver's movements ceased as Felicity continued to talk. 

"I've never gone all the way, but when I'm with you I feel these desires and I know you do too, so I figured it was time to talk about it instead of glossing over it." Felicity finished her spill with a sigh of relief. 

He had desires and they were definitely strong. "I've never had sex," Oliver responded truthfully. 

"Really," she asked with a bit of skepticism. 

"Yes," he nodded. "You don't believe me?"

With her own preconceived notions, she assumed that he would've at least done it once. Then there was the whole thing with Laurel and Tommy having done it. 

"It's not that I don't believe you," she said quietly. "It's just that you're...you." She wasn't just dating a regular guy. She was dating Oliver Queen. Even though they were only fifteen and sixteen respectively, she knew there were these unspoken notions around them already. They came from two different worlds, with one being considerably more advanced than the other. "I'm not naive enough to believe that I'm the first girl to get your attention Oliver."

Oliver swiped a piece of hair behind her ear tenderly. He dragged his thumb down her cheek. "I entertained other girls, but never for long. I had my share of chances, but I would always pull away. You're the first one that I've wanted to go to the next step with. You're you also and I happen to like you a lot."

"And I like you too," she smiled. "A lot."

"So no guy has ever tried anything or..."

“I’m not that much of a noble virgin,” she quipped.

Oliver swallowed his laugh. "Just asking…."

"Right before we moved here, there was this guy at a party. Me and a group of kids played spin the bottle and I messed around in the closet with him and he attempted to...use his hands. I don't think he knew what he was doing though because it was very awkward and not particularly good,” she said feeling a hint of embarrassment.

"Anyway, we may not be at the major step just yet, but we can do other things."

"Other things," he repeated. 

She nodded as Oliver sat up. "Well there's something I've been wanting to try," he said softly. "With you."

"What," Felicity asked. 

Oliver pressed a kiss under Felicity's ear. He nibbled at her earlobe before pressing another heated kiss there. "I want to go down on you.”

Felicity's eyes popped open instantly. "Oh," she exclaimed. "Wow.”

Oliver laughed softly as Felicity's eyebrows crinkled and he could tell his suggestion had sent her for a short tailspin.”

"How do you make everything so...cute," he said finally find the word he was searching for. 

“Special talent.”

‘We don't have to...I don't want you to think I'm trying to pressure you into anything."

"No," Felicity quickly cut him off. "You're not. That's the farthest thing from my mind."

"Oh. What's on that mind of yours," he asked. 

"I have envisioned something like this, so it's not a total shock that you have.” Felicity took the opportunity to throw her legs over Oliver and straddle him. She latched onto his lips with hers slipping her tongue through the opening. Oliver grabbed Felicity’s head curling his fingers into her hair as the kiss intensified. His hands moved down ghosting over her back down to the curve of her butt.

Oliver grabbed Felicity's hips and flipped her onto the bed as he hovered over her. She swiped her hair out of her face as she relaxed against the mattress.

Oliver looked into her eyes. “Can I touch you?”

“Yes,” she said a bit breathless form the kiss.

He grabbed the hem of her dress and slowly inched it up until it was bunched at her waist. Her polka dot panties were on display.

As Oliver’s hand teased her skin, Felicity felt butterflies in her stomach. Felicity's breath hitched as his fingers glossed over her entrance. Oliver brought his hand up resting it against the smooth skin of her stomach.

"I can stop if you..."

"No," Felicity quickly said. "Don't stop. I want you to keep going."

She smiled at him and her smile gave him the motivation he needed. He pushed himself up slightly making himself eye level with her. With his hand still pressed against her, he leaned down kissing her lips. His fingers slid down the inside of her panties as he deepened the kiss. Felicity let out a small moan as his fingers began stroking her. His lips moved from hers to the side of her face and down the side of her jaw nibbling along the way. He gently slipped a finger inside, twisting and pumping along the way. His fingers were now slick from her wetness, so they were moving in and out with more ease.

Oliver watched Felicity as her eyes shut and she squirmed with a small whimper falling from her lips. She looked even better than he imagined under these circumstances. Her hair was fanned around her like a halo, her cheeks were flushed and her lips had an added plumpness.

He pulled his fingers out as her eyes popped open. Meeting her eyes, she gave him another smile. "You okay," he asked. 

She gave him another smile licking her lips. "Yeah, keep doing what you're doing."

He huffed a small laugh as he started moving down her body. He hooked his fingers in her panties and slowly pulled them down her body. Sitting them to the side, he quickly turned his attention back to her. Felicity widened her legs as Oliver settled between them glancing up in her eyes once more.

The minute Oliver’s lips touched her, Felicity's hands flew to Oliver's hair as she gripped it tightly. His tongue snaked out gingerly tasting the taste he had dreamed about. She tasted sweet and better than he could’ve imagined. He sped up the strokes of his tongue exploring her wet mound in a series of dizzy patterns.

Felicity’s hips moved involuntarily pressing into his face. She could feel something building up in the pit of her. She felt her lower stomach muscles clench as her name was called out by Oliver. She came and this new experience felt beyond amazing. Oliver pushed himself away and looked down at Felicity. She was breathing heavy, and panting. She was completely flushed and spent. For both of them to be inexperienced, it seemed like they were on the right track.

“That was uh…wow,” she said with a light laugh.

“Was that okay,” he asked.

“Yes,” she reassured him. “More than okay,” she emphasized.

Felicity sat up and brushed her dress down her legs. “Are you good,” she asked him. She wasn’t oblivious to how hard her was growing against her and it was still very evident.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m more than okay,” he said repeating her words.

“Oliver, are you sure? Because…”

“I’m sure.” He cut her off with smile. He grabbed her hand giving it a squeeze and her and pulled her into a hug. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Let’s just clean up and get some sleep, huh? We don’t have to rush. I promise."


	9. Chapter 9

"Ollie! I left some toys in there." The knocking on the door and the voice of Thea abruptly woke Oliver up. 

"Come get them," he yelled back. 

"Are you awake," she sung as she entered the room. 

"No," he answered pulling the covers over his head more shielding himself from the light. He turned over as he heard Thea shuffling through his things. It sounded like a lot more than her getting a doll.

"Speedy, what are you doing," he asked from under the covers.

Eventually her voice broke out again. "Ollie, what's this? It's a box. Says mag..." Thea began trying to sound the words out like she was taught until finally she just spelled it. "M - a - g - n - u - m."

His little sister was holding his box of condoms. Shoving the cover off of him, he quickly sat up. He could see her mouth silently moving as she tried to sound the rest of the words out on the box.

"Thea! Give me that." 

His voice startled her a bit as she jumped at the sudden loudness. "Sorry," he quickly apologized. He leapt out of the bed forgetting that his legs were still tangled in the covers tripping to his feet. "Please just give me that," he said this time quieter. 

"What is it?"

"Nothing," he said

"Is it bad," she asked. 

"No... it’s just. Just a boy thing," he horribly explained. He finally got to his feet. "Hand it over please."

"What is it," she asked again just as he reached for it. 

Moira appeared in the doorway just as Oliver grabbed the box. "Oh good, you're up. I need you to..." 

He could see the exact moment her eyes honed in on the box. A range of emotions flashed across her face instantly. Her eyes narrowed as her hands flew to her hips in her judgmental mother stance. 

"Thea, go to your room," she said.

"But why," she whined. 

"Thea go," she commanded. "I'll call you down for breakfast in a bit." As Thea stomped out of the room, Moira walked up on Oliver. "Let me see this." She snatched it from Oliver's hands. She inspected the box finding that it had already been opened. She could tell at least one was missing. 

"It's not what you think," he said. 

"I'm holding a box of open condoms. Not many scenarios to go with here."

Oliver sighed scrubbing his face. He only opened the box to put one of the condoms in his wallet. He hadn't used any of them yet, just a precaution. 

"Are you having sex?"

"Mom," he groaned. 

"Answer the question now."

"If I say no, would you even believe me," he scoffed. 

"Where did you get these," she asked next. "Tommy? Someone else at school? Who Oliver," she demanded when he grew quiet. 

"Dad," he finally said. "I got them from dad."

"Oh," she said stunned. "Alright." Moira turned on her heels with the box still in tow heading to their bedroom. 

Moira walked into their bedroom as Robert was exiting their attached bathroom. "Did you get my son this," she asked. She threw the box onto the bed as Robert looked at it.

"Our son, you mean," he said with a light laugh. She always did that when she wanted to baby Oliver or shield him for something, saying he was moving too fast. Robert tightened his robe around his waist and slipped into his slippers. "But yes, it was time."

"Time for sex? Really Robert?"

"Listen, he's sixteen and has a girlfriend. I thought this was the next logical step."

Moira laughed crossing her arms. "Without discussing it with me first?"

"Talking to you would've done what? Nothing because you still would've tried to put it off. I know how you are."

"I just don't see why we should be encouraging sex right now. It should be discouraged, not broadcasted proudly."

"He and Felicity are serious. I mean, you see the way he looks at her and she's not much different," Robert said. "It's not realistic to think that the subject hasn't come up between them. They are in high school for crying out loud and we know times have changed."

"I just..." Moira sighed running her hand through her hair. "Do you think she's more advanced than him? You know girls mature at a much faster rate than boys. Or is he feeling pressure because of his status as an athlete or what?" Moira dropped down to the bed. The different drastic situations began to run through her mind.

"I just think if there's a chance it hasn't happened yet, which I don't think it has," he emphasized as Moira's eyes widened. "It's better for them to be prepared when it does," he tried his best to explain. "They both have bright futures and a baby would definitely derail that. Better to be safe."

"My son is having sex," she whispered to herself. Oliver was going through so many changes that it was hard for her to keep up at the moment. Another girl had come in and completely stolen his attention. His hair was now cropped close to his head giving him an older look, and he was constantly growing. "My baby is no longer a baby."

"We still have Thea for years to come and then we will have to do this fun stuff all over again." Robert walked up to his wife. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up towards him wrapping an arm around her waist.

"That is not a comforting thought at all Robert," she mumbled into his chest.

Robert placed a comforting kiss to the top of his wife's head. He squeezed her tightly in a hug. "Oliver and Felicity are both great kids’ sweetie. This is simply precaution for the both of them. Being open with it will bring down the chances of something drastic happening. Everything will be fine."

<\---->

"So your mom was pissed?"

Oliver pounded the baseball in his glove as he laid back on the couch. Tommy sat in the love seat across the room flipping through the television channels. Oliver had decided that it would be best to just leave his house and head to a safe place at least until his mother came to terms with what she found. 

"Tommy you know my mom. Come on," he responded.

“She would definitely have a heart attack if I was her son.”

“Now she’s convinced that Felicity and I are banging every second we’re alone.”

Tommy doubled over in laughter and Oliver flipped him off. "For all of the trouble the two of you have ran into, I feel like it should've happened by now. But just to make sure I’m up to date, you and Felicity haven't?"

"Nope."

"Why not," Tommy asked. "I'm not asking in a judging way or anything. I just want to know what's making you wait."

"Felicity's special," Oliver answered. "She's not just some chick I'm looking to get me off.”

“You really like her, huh?”

Oliver nodded as he sat up. Once girls began to show him all kinds of attention and throwing themselves at him, he thought it would be hard to resist them, but he had so far. Felicity came along and made him want a normal relationship that grew each day.

“I admire your strength my friend,” Tommy said as he shook his head. “I really do.”

“I'm waiting on Felicity, but believe me, it has been very hard restraining myself." The thought alone had been captivating his mind.

* * *

Felicity laid across Oliver's bed reading a book, while he sat at the foot of the bed playing one of his video games that she had no interest in. 

It was Saturday, his parents were called into the office leaving them at the manor alone while Thea was at dance class.

Felicity's attention turned away from her book when Oliver suddenly cut his game off and dropped back on the bed with a heavy sigh. 

"You done already," she asked. 

"Yeah I lost," he mumbled. He scrubbed his face as he flopped back against the mattress.

Oliver fell quiet as silence crept into the room. Felicity closed her book and sat it to the side. "Hey," she nudged him with her foot. "What's wrong?"

"Hmmm?" 

"It seems like something has been bothering you," she said. "You've been quiet and sort of broody lately.”

“Sorry,” he apologized. “Didn’t mean to be.”

Felicity slid down the bed beside him. Pulling his hands away from his face, she linked hers through his. “What’s wrong?”

"I’ve just been thinking," he answered. 

"About????" She encouraged him to elaborate. 

“Nothing serious.”

“Oliver come on.” She kissed his knuckles. “Talk to me. Remember, we promised we would always talk to each other. I know I talk a lot, but you can get some words in too,” she joked.

“I’ve been wound up and stressed lately. That's all."

Felicity nodded at his answer. She glanced down seeing the outline of him in the sweatpants he had on that didn't leave much to the imagination. Felicity brushed her hair behind her ears chewing on her bottom lip as an idea popped in her head. "Hey." She nudged him softly before sitting up over him.

"Yeah," he looked up at her. 

"I know a way to help you let go of some stress. What if I..."

"What," he asked. He didn't mean to sound so urgent, but he wasn't sure if they were thinking the same thing. When Felicity ghosted her right hand ghosted over him down his sweatpants, chills ran through his body. The contact was only brief, but he instantly hardened and stood at attention. They were definitely thinking along the same lines now.

"What if I gave you some relief," she asked.

Oliver sat up searching her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"You've used your hands on me," she said. "Why can't I return the favor? And don't say anything about pressure because that is not it."

"If you're sure you want to, go ahead."

"Okay," she said quietly. She positioned herself in front of him. Looking up at him, she dragged her hands down his chest until she got to the band of his pants. Felicity pushed against his stomach gently, and Oliver rested back against his hands in response.

He closed his eyes the moment Felicity's hands slipped inside his pants as she tugged them down finally freeing him of his constraints. Not wasting time, Felicity wrapped her slender fingers around him. His Adam’s apple bobbled up and down as he swallowed thickly trying to have some kind of self-control. She slid her hands down before bringing them back up slowly. Her thumb brushed over the tip collecting the bit of moisture there. She stroked back down squeezing tighter along the way. She kept this particular pattern going for the time being and he had no complaints.

"Oh fuck," Oliver groaned. Felicity was definitely doing a much better job at this than he had done on himself numerous times before.

She began twisting her hands in the opposite directions combining that with her strokes bringing his pleasure to new heights. The covers on his bed bunched up as he gripped them tightly balling them into his fists. Squeezing his eyes shut again, Oliver could see flashes of white light dance around under his eyelids. With a couple more strokes, he knew he was close to releasing himself all over her hands.

He quickly grabbed the towel that was laying off to the side. He gestured for Felicity to move and as soon as she did he wrapped the towel around himself. Her name slipped from his lips as his began to empty himself into it. Sighing in pleasure, he opened his eyes to see Felicity watching him closely. She sported a proud bright smile as he tried to regain his composure. It was over way too quick for what he would've liked, but he obviously couldn't contain himself with her. That was something he would have to work on.

Felicity straightened herself up on her feet. “Do you feel better," she asked him.

"Yes." He pulled his pants up as he jumped to his feet already feeling lighter. He pressed a kiss against her lips softly. "Much better. Thanks."

“You’re welcome.”

Oliver gathered the towel up and walked over to his closet tossing it in his dirty clothes hamper. He walked back to his bed pulling Felicity down beside him. "You good," he asked her.

She nodded. "Care to tell me what had you so wound up now?"

Oliver grabbed Felicity's hand pulling her back against the bed with him. He intertwined their fingers resting the connected hands on his chest.. "Just stressing over baseball basically. The start is pretty much here, and I’m a little nervous.”

“Nervous about what exactly?”

"I was good as a freshman last year," he started. "But what if I'm like a one hit wonder or a fluke. I can't afford a sophomore slump after getting everyone's expectations up so high. I can’t afford a drop off."

“Oliver, you won’t,” she said.

“How do you know,” he asked.

“Because I wouldn’t date a scrub,” she whispered with a tease.

Oliver smiled letting out a hearty laugh. 

“But seriously,” Felicity turned serious again. “Please don’t put so much pressure on yourself. One, you have been working so hard in practice to perfect your craft, there’s nowhere to go but up. Two, you’re not a one-man team, so it is not all on you. And three, I believe in you.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You’re my number one.”

Oliver wrapped his arms around Felicity pulling her on top of him into a tight hug burying his face into her. “Thank you baby,” he whispered into the crook of her neck before nibbling at the ticklish skin there. Felicity sat up pulling him with her and draped her arms around his neck. Their lips made the familiar path and connected together. Felicity ran her fingers through his hair tugging at it while nibbling at his bottom lip. Oliver's hands ran down her back slipping underneath her shirt as the kiss quickly intensified.

“Hey,” she pulled back slightly.

"Hmm," he hummed still trying to nip at her skin.

Felicity thought she would feel a bit of shyness at them crossing new boundaries, but it never came. She felt confident and secure and comfortable with him. But with each step they took, she just felt right. “I don’t want to wait much longer,” she said much to Oliver's surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts???


	10. Chapter 10

_**[Party - Felicity & Oliver ](https://www.polyvore.com/untitled_79/set?id=228962546) ** _

First baseball game of the season that Starling Prep won convincingly, so it was only right that there was a celebratory party tonight at Carter Bowen’s house.

Felicity sat on the counter with a barely sipped red cup in her hand. Sara stood off next to her as they looked out observing the crowd. They made small talk, but Felicity’s only thought was Oliver. They hadn’t seen much of each other this week with the first game coming up. Oliver had practice and meetings and she wanted him to stay focused, so their contact had been a bit on the less than side.

Oliver as second baseman had one homerun, a stolen base and three double plays on the night. She had heard rumblings about how Oliver was such a great defensive player and she saw that come into fruition. Felicity still didn’t understand everything fully, but she cheered when everyone else cheered and kept her eyes on Oliver the entire night.

“The boys have arrived!” A loud booming voice from the front yelled out that was none other than Tommy Merlyn. She could see Oliver behind him as they walked through the crowd slapping hands and accepting the congratulatory pats.

As Oliver walked further inside, his eyes searched only for Felicity. Finally spotting her in the kitchen, he smiled as he approached her. She looked amazing in dress that resembled sort of a nightgown material with a leather jacket over it. Her hair was piled on her head exposing her neck which was one of his favorite spots.

"Hi," she grinned down at him once he stood in front of her.

Oliver rested his hands against Felicity's thighs. He grabbed her hips as she jumped down from the counter. "Congrats again," she said echoing what she said when she briefly saw him after the game. She pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you baby," he smiled into the hug. He wrapped his arms around her lifting her off the ground. “It helped that I could look out and see you.”

“Really,” she asked skeptically.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You sitting by my parents was a bit of a shock though.”

“Thea wanted to sit with me, so I figured she would be safer away from my group of rowdy companions.”

“Good point.”

Later on that night, Felicity's back was pressed against the wall with Oliver's body pressed firmly against hers. You could barely tell where one body ended and the other began. The music blasted around them as the lights bounced off the walls. Oliver's hands danced up her thighs along with the music. Her dress inched higher and higher as his fingers explored her skin. Felicity slipped her hands inside his jacket linking her fingers at his back trying to get him even closer.

“I think we’re about to give everyone a show,” she whispered.

Oliver pulled away and Felicity could see how his eyes were cloudy and she could definitely feel how aroused he was against her thigh. The pool forming in the seat of her panties meant just the same.

“Do you want to get out of here,” he asked.

Felicity nodded promptly.

"Come on. I know the perfect place," he whispered. He grabbed her hand and turned pulling her behind him.

Felicity was a bit confused when they pulled up to the Merlyn’s resident. Oliver kept going pass the house until he stopped at what looked like a mini version of the mansion. As they got out the car, Oliver explained that it was one of the guest houses. He unlocked the door motioning for her to file inside.

Oliver closed the door making sure to lock it. "This place is Tommy and I little hideout, so to speak. Tommy comes here when he and his pops have arguments, and sometimes I come just to hangout. I have my own room here and everything.”

"Is this some kind of love shack,” she teased as she walked around. Letting her jacket fall off her shoulders, she tossed it on the couch. “You and Tommy bring all the chicks here and woo them?” She propped her hand on her hips turning to Oliver with a smirk.

“I can’t answer for Tommy, but you know you’re the only chick I have eyes for.” He walked up to her and slipped his arm around her waist pulling her close. “Plus, I’ve been wanting to get you alone all night.”

Felicity ran her hands through her hair letting it fall free against her shoulders. She fingered his dog tags resting against his chest in her hand pulling him closer. “Well you have me now,” she said meeting his lips.

They stumbled to the bedroom with their lips connected knocking into walls and different decorative sets along the way. Oliver made a mental note to apologize to Tommy later for any damages.

Once inside the bedroom, they fell onto the bed and their lips finally parted. Felicity’s hands flew to Oliver body, her hands making their way under his shirt.

"I just want to make sure that you really want it. I don't want to pressure you."

“Oliver, I’m pretty sure this is the exact opposite of pressured behavior,” she joked.

Oliver grabbed her hands laughing softly.

“Oliver, are you having second thoughts,” Felicity asked.

“No. Believe me, I want this very badly," he sighed. "I just figured you would want your first time to be more special and not seem like we're checking it off the list. I don't want you to regret it." Now that he was thinking with his mind a little more clearly, he thought maybe this setting wasn’t good enough for her.

"I won't regret this," she reassured him. "I may read romance novels all the time and those boring Shakespearean stories as you say, but I know what real life is like. I don't need elaborate gestures or for you to throw rose petals at my feet. I know that I feel comfortable with you. You're all I want and need."

"You're sure," he asked again.

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm ready if you are."

With that go ahead, Oliver lifted his shirt up snatching it off and tossed it to the side as Felicity undid his pants. He moved her hands away so he could free his legs from them and threw them to the flor joining his shirt. She kicked her shoes off and scooted back on the bed.

She pushed the straps of her silk dress down and did a little shimmy letting it fall off her body. Oliver took the dress and tossed it aside as it joined his clothes. Felicity laid back against the bed, and Oliver took the moment to admire her. She was beautiful. Her hair had fallen loose from the bun and now cascaded out around her. His eyes traveled over her entire body. He smiled at her matching bra and panty black set that was littered with small flowers because it was so her.

“What,” she nudged him with her leg.

“Nothing, but you’re cute.”

“Cute,” she repeated.

He leaned down kissing her briefly. He began moving down her body peppering kisses along the way. “Cute, sexy, beautiful, gorgeous. All of the above,” he whispered as his lips danced along her stomach.

“Nice save,” she giggled as his nose began to tickle her.

He slowly brought her panties down her legs and wasting no time taking her in his mouth. The first time he did this to her, he had hair that she could grip onto. This time his short hair, that she had to admit she liked very much, only allowed her fingernails to graze across his scalp.

Oliver read/was told that doing this beforehand would make it easier for Felicity once they actually got to the most important act. Part of him felt like a fool for even inquiring about it, but he wanted to be prepared and bring Felicity as much pleasure as he could. Judging by the way his name was falling from her lips, he was doing pretty well.

Oliver circled his tongue against her clit as he slipped a finger inside. “Please,” Felicity whispered as she managed to grip some of his hair. Her back arched as she pushed against him. The combination of his finger and tongue left her panting against the bed. Oliver pulled away with a sly smile looking up at her. Felicity sat up meeting his lips and effortlessly reached behind her back unhooking her bra and tossed it to the side.

“I wanted to do that,” Oliver growled against her lips.

“Next time, I promise,” she muttered.

Oliver’s hands ran up her sides teasing her breasts that he had stared at many times. He spent a short time admiring them with his lips before Felicity brought his lips back to hers.

Oliver’s hand flew to his boxers and he shoved them off quickly freeing himself. Felicity wrapped her slender fingers around him and pumped him. Oliver grunted trying to will himself to not let go in her palms.

“Condom?”

“Right.” Oliver reluctantly broke the kiss and leaned over Felicity grabbing his jeans and searched for his wallet. Finding it quickly, he pulled out the condom he tucked inside weeks ago out. Tearing it open with his teeth, he rolled it on.

As he positioned himself back between her legs, there was a silent nervousness hanging in the room. This moment was real, it was happening and after this there was no turning back. They looked in the other’s eyes for a moment, seeing what the other was thinking.

Felicity gave him a small smile that he reciprocated and finally moved again. He gently started to push inside of her and was only about an inch in when Felicity felt a dull ache as her breath hitched.

"You okay," Oliver quickly asked. His hand came up to caress her chin making sure to look in her eyes to know if he needed to stop at any moment. "We can stop if..."

"No. Keep going," she said firmly.

"I'll be as gentle as you need me to be," he said.

Felicity gave him a go ahead nod wrapping her arms around his back. Oliver continued to enter her. His own breath caught in his throat as they locked eyes. He held his gaze on her as he pushed further inside her. Felicity’s hold on his back tightened as she shut her eyes at the sensation. He let out a breathy moan once he was fully inside her.

Felicity tilted her head up meeting Oliver’s lips. She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth before pushing her tongue inside his. Their tongues began to twist and battle one another before Felicity surrendered control over to Oliver.

He could feel her tightness clamping down around him as he began stroking her gently. He already knew he wouldn’t last long at this rate; he would just have to try to stretch it out as best as he could.

Felicity's head fell back against the pillow no longer bothered by the pain, but welcomed the sense of newfound pleasure. Oliver's lips fell to her neck as he sucked down on her skin. She withered underneath him as he pushed deeper now. His grip on the edge of the mattress tightened as he tried to hold on for dear life.

Felicity brought her arms up locking them around his neck. She kissed his jaw grazing his chin with her teeth. “Oliver, I’m close and you can let go,” she whispered.

Oliver snaked his hands up her arms removing them from his neck and locked fingers with her at their sides. He thrusted a couple more times as his release soon came. They shared a brief kiss as he pulled out of her and collapsed on top of her trying to catch his breath.

“Aren’t you glad we didn’t wait much longer,” she breathlessly asked with a teasing smirk.

“Yes,” he said rolling off of her. "Wait here. I'll be right back." He placed a kiss in her hair before ditching the bed. He went to bathroom and discarded the condom in the toilet before grabbing a towel. He ran the towel under the warm water briefly before heading back to the bedroom

"Here." He wiped her off gently as she rested against the pillows.

Felicity's heart swelled at how tender Oliver was being now and throughout the entire thing. No second thoughts for her; she knew that she had made the right decision by experiencing all of this for the first time with Oliver.

Oliver handed Felicity his shirt that she promptly slipped on letting it swallow her frame. He slipped his boxers back on and finally took the spot next to her in the bed. Felicity scooted closer to him as he threw his arm around her. "You okay," he asked.

"Never been better," she said. "You?"

"Never been better," he repeated with a smile pulling the covers around them.

* * *

Felicity rested against Oliver's with their fingers intertwined as her phone began to repeatedly buzz against the nightstand.  

She sat up opening the messages. "Uh oh," she said.

"What's the matter," Oliver asked sitting up. 

"It’s Sara. I need to go," Felicity answered. "Quentin's shift finished early." Technically Felicity was supposed to go to the party and be back at the Lance's house with Laurel and Sara no later than eleven. It was now almost one o'clock. 

"You mean he's..."

"Yeah, he's leaving work and headed home now. So that means we have to go now." That meant that when he got home, he would peek his head inside Laurel's room to make sure everything was okay like he usually did, and if Felicity was nowhere in the house, he would figure out she was with Oliver. That would cause Officer Lance to make an appearance followed by a very reactive Donna Smoak probably punishing her for a very long time. A chain of events that she didn't want to happen. 

Oliver reached Felicity her clothes that she quickly pulled on as Oliver did the same. He pocketed his keys as he hopped into his tennis shoes. "Ready?"

She looked around making sure she had gathered all her things and nodded. Oliver grabbed her hand leading her out of the bedroom.  

Oliver made it to the Lance household in record time. He parked across the street just as Quentin pulled into the driveway. Oliver turned off all of his lights and they both froze in the car trying to keep out of sight. Felicity's phone began lighting up with a call from Laurel. She quickly put her head down and answered it. 

"You better put a move on it Smoak," Laurel said immediately.

"Open your window, I'm going to have to climb in."

"Alright hurry," Laurel said. "Sara is going downstairs to stall him."

Laurel couldn't come up with a believable lie to save her life, so Felicity took a sigh of relief knowing that the expert Sara was handling that part. 

Oliver and Felicity got out of the car and quietly made their way across the lawn at the back of the house. Laurel quickly undid the locks and shoved the window up. 

"Come on," Laurel hurried her. 

"Wait." Oliver grabbed her hand and pressed her lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer deepening the quick kiss. 

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Laurel scoffed. "This is not the time for that. I'm not getting my privileges revoked because the two of you are horny. Also, would you like a bullet in the ass Oliver if he spots you lounging around in the dark?"

Oliver pulled away and motioned for Felicity to climb on his back. Once she was seated,  
he stood up giving her just the height she needed to reach Laurel's hands. From his end, Oliver helped push her up giving her an extra boost. 

"Didn't you have enough kissing for tonight anyway," Laurel reprimanded her as she began pulling Felicity inside.

Oliver heard them both fall to the floor with a grunt. "Everything okay?"

Felicity popped up peering out of the window. "Yes, it is. Now go. Quickly," she said. 

"See you later," he whispered. He gave a small wave before he turned and sprinted towards his car. 

Felicity closed the window as Laurel threw her a robe. "Put that on and climb in the bed."

Felicity stripped out of her jacket and quickly slipped into the robe. She crawled next to Laurel slipping under the covers as she turned the television on. 

As soon as she got comfortable, there was a knock on the door. 

"Come in," Laurel yelled. 

Quentin walked in with Sara on his heels. Sara's eyes held panic as Quentin's darted across the room observing. "Hey daddy," Laurel said as Felicity waved.

"I thought I heard a loud thumping noise," he responded.

"Oh that was just me taking Felicity's books away from her." She motioned to Felicity's book bag that was conveniently on the floor with books hanging out. "She's always trying to read just one more chapter. We can do school work tomorrow though. Chick flicks tonight."

Felicity and Sara looked at each other impressed that Laurel managed to come up with such a good lie that quickly. 

"Alright. Don't stay up too late you three."

As Quentin left out closing the door behind him, Sara leaped into the bed. "Crisis miraculously averted," she huffed. She looked up at Felicity with a grin stretching from ear to ear. "Now tell us what happened tonight. The two of you finally did the deed?"

Felicity only smiled a blushing shy smile with a wiggle of her eyebrows. "Yeah, we did," she finally admitted.

"I knew it," Sara squealed. She turned to Laurel holding out her right hand. "That will be 10 bucks big sis," she grinned.

Felicity's eyes widened as Laurel sucked her teeth and began digging around in her purse. "Wait, the two of you were betting on us?"

"Yep," Sara laughed. 

"I'm definitely not telling now," she leaned back folding her arms.

"Oh yes you are," Laurel demanded much to her surprise. "If I'm going to be out of cash, at least make it worth my while."

"Agreed," Sara nodded.

"Fine," Felicity huffed with a playful roll of her eyes. She scooted over so Sara could get in the bed. "Well..." she started beginning to relay the last hours events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two love birds had it coming. I hope I was able to respectfully portray their first time together. 
> 
>  
> 
> This chapter ends part one of this work, so to speak. The next chapter will kick off part two and there will be about a two year time jump. I thought ending here with Oliver and Felicity making that final step was an appropriate place to split the story into halves. Worry not, our favorite couple will still be together, but I should warn you. Since they will be older, expect more serious situations to arise. Things have been pretty easy in this first part, but as life gets more hectic expect a bit of angst. What's a story without some angst, right? (Don't bail ;) remember its a journey lol)


	11. Part Two: Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part two of this first installment is here! Keep in mind that there has been about a 3 year time jump starting now...our favs are approaching adulthood. Things will speed up and intensify from here on out. Enjoy!

**_[QC - Felicity](https://www.polyvore.com/untitled_82/set?id=229953106) _ **

Felicity twirled the blonde strand of hair she had been playing with for the last five minutes around the red pen in her hand. The blonde was still fairly new. Over the summer she decided that she wanted something new. She'd grown bored of her hair. The purple highlights grew out and then she was left with just the dark hair. She made the sudden decision to dye it one day over the Lance's. They completely botched the first job, but the second try was a success. She was now considered a blonde babe. Oliver's words, not hers.

The summer program at QC was everything she could've wanted. It was a group of only five of them, with Curtis Holt being one of the lucky people. She was excited to have a friendly face with her.

At the end of the day, they would all work on different coding challenges. It was one in particular that had stumped them all and Felicity was determined to beat it. The rest of the crew had given up, only leaving Felicity and Curtis. He would not let Curtis Holt get the upper hand. Almost an hour later, they were still dueling until finally the congratulatory screen flashed across her screen.

"I got it!" She jumped up with the pen hanging in hair.

"No way." Curtis ran around the desk and peered at Felicity's computer.

She rolled back in the chair sporting a proud grin. "Feast your eyes on this." She took the pen from her hair rolling it between her palms.

"You bested me again." He held his hand out to her. "My favorite adversary."

"Likewise," she smiled before shaking his hand.

"I'll gladly take second place to you before those others," he whispered as he went to gather his belongings.

"I'll take that as a compliment...I think," she said.

"It is," he assured her.

They talked a little longer as they both packed up. Felicity moved a bit slower since she was waiting on Oliver to pick her up.

She had just dropped back into her chair when she heard a light knock followed by a thick accent. "Well done Ms. Smoak," Walter said as his presence graced the doorway. "I just passed Mr. Holt and he said you bested everyone in the group. Not a surprise to me at all."

She stood up and gave a slight nod of appreciation. "Yeah, it was nagging me and I couldn't let it win. But thank you very much sir."

He walked further inside and Felicity could tell something more was on his mind. "Felicity, you know it's been great having you here this summer."

"I've had such a great time," she said. "It's going to be kind of hard going back to high school after all of this though."

She was worried about people feeling that she only got into the program because of her connections to the Queen family, but Walter made sure to assure her that that was not the case. It was her talent that got her in and she excelled.

"Ah. Senior year. Time to make plans for your future."

Felicity nodded.

"Have you started preparing for life after high school," he asked.

"I have. Sort of," she answered. She had been thinking about her future a lot actually. It was like she blinked and she was no longer fifteen anymore. Oliver and the rest of the crew was entering college, leaving her and Sara to finish their last year before it was their time. She was preparing for adulthood, things were changing and if she didn't change with them, she would get left behind. "Working here this summer has really helped me find my niche. I know that this is what I want to do," she continued. "As the year goes on, I'll start making some final decisions."

She was still trying to handle the quick changes. One was Oliver being away now. She had been thinking about local schools in or near Starling, then she even thought about schools near Oliver. But nothing final yet.

MIT was her number one choice and had been her dream since she could remember. Harrison Wells was a professor there and that would be the ultimate experience. She just hadn't quite built up the nerve to actually apply yet.

"You have a bright future ahead of you," he smiled. "Don't limit yourself. You're far too bright to dim yourself for anything."

Felicity nodded again listening intently. If she had learned anything over these couple of months, it was that she should soak up every drop of wisdom that came from Walter.

"QC will always have a place for you if you desire it. I hope you keep that in mind as you continue to grow and explore."

"I will. Thank you Walter."

Felicity looked around the room where she spent almost three months there. She envisioned herself running her own division, or even company one day. Specializing in cutting edge technology and science.

"You look like a natural. A perfect fit."

Felicity turned to see Oliver leaning against the door frame.

"Hey," she smiled as he walked in. 

He pulled her into a hug kissing her pink lips. "You know this company is going to go right down the drain without you," he whispered.

"Whatever shall they do," she laughed off matching his exaggeration.

<\---->

"This room is a lot bigger than what I imagined for a freshman," Felicity noted as she walked around Oliver's dorm room. Freshmen at Hill University where he would be a member of the Hill Arrowheads baseball team. An entire six hour drive away from Starling. Oliver was moving into his dorm room and after much begging, Donna finally decided that it was okay for Felicity to spend the weekend with him. She was pretty sure Donna only agreed because Moira signed off on it. Moira took a lot of convincing as well.

Oliver dropped down on his bed. "It's because I'm a star athlete babe," he grinned. 

Felicity rolled her eyes with a scoff. "Yeah yeah," she laughed. 

Felicity popped open the last box for Oliver. She began pulling out small accents before she got to his framed pictures. She sat Thea's picture out and then the hallmark style family portrait. There was one left in the box turned over. She pulled it out only to be met with a picture of herself.

She softly at the picture trimmed in a gold frame. It didn't surprise her that he had a picture of her, but actually seeing it made it all more sentimental. 

Oliver came up behind her wrapping her arm around her waist. "Thea did the accessorizing" he explained. "She's getting very good at this crafting thing."

"It's cute."

Oliver took the picture and set it up on his desk. "This is where you will be living. So when I sit at my desk, I have no choice but to study because it will be as if you're forcing me to like so many times in the past."

"Hey." She nudged him with her elbow. "My tutoring paid off."

Oliver exaggerated and rubbed the spot where she hit him. Felicity draped her arm around Oliver's neck as he pulled her closer by the hips. "You can't be here with me, so this is best case scenario,” he said.

"It's very sweet," she smiled. "I love it."

Oliver hands played at Felicity’s sides. “You know,” he shifted his eyes to his bed. “We have to christen my room," he whispered. 

“What did you have in mind,” she asked catching her bottom lip between her teeth.

“You.” He tugged her lip free kissing her hard as her hold tightened around his neck.

“I’m pretty sure this is what our parents feared happening this weekend,” she laughed.

“Mhmm,” Oliver hummed against her lips.

He had just untied Felicity’s shirt when the door to the room burst open. They both jumped, and Felicity made sure to stay behind Oliver as he turned around.

"Wow. We haven't even fully moved in yet and you already need to hang a sock on the doorknob. My idol."

Tommy’s teasing voice cut through the mood like a sharp knife.

"There's my lovely roommate. Just in time like always,” Oliver said through gritted teeth.

Felicity straightening her clothes back on her shooting Tommy an evil glare in the process. 

“We’re about to go down to the pizza place and decided to stop by and see if you guys wanted to tag along.”

“We,” Oliver questioned.

“Yeah. You remember Renee from camp," Tommy said. A guy that Felicity didn’t recognize peeked his head inside and gave a small wave.

"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "Nice to see you again man."

“You too.”

Oliver turned to the still quiet Felicity. "Oh. This is my girlfriend Felicity," Oliver said. "Felicity, Renee. He's one of my teammates."

"Nice to meet you," she waved. 

"Oliver talked about you when we had camp. Nice to see you in person."

“Oh?’ Felicity smiled a blushing smile.

“More like talked about you the entire time,” Tommy said. “All day, all night. Every second.”

“Okay! I think we get the picture Tommy,” Oliver said loudly.

“I think it’s dope,” Renee shrugged. “I admire the long distance thing too. Not every can handle it,” Renee said as Tommy nodded.

“Thanks,” Oliver said. “Oh and I’ll take a raincheck on the pizza. I’m going to hang back with my girl.”

“Alright, that’s all I need to hear.” Tommy turned Renee back towards the door. “Let’s go.”  
“Nice meeting you Renee,” Felicity yelled to the closing door.

“Alright, where were we?” Oliver turned and picked Felicity up throwing her down on the bed. Her hair cascaded into her face as her infectious laugh filled the room.

* * *

"Felicity."

She looked over at Oliver as he briefly glanced at her. "Hmmm?"

"What's wrong," he asked with his fingers tapping the steering wheel. 

"Nothing..."

"Don't say nothing. You've been quiet and kind of off since last night," he said.

He called her name again as she stayed quiet and she sighed. She could never get anything past him and should've known he would pick up on her quietness. Oliver veered off the main road and turned onto a secluded path leading to a meadow like area. He pulled to a car and turned the car before turning to her.

"I know you're not fine. What's wrong?" He saw a change in her when they were at his dorm. She had grown increasingly quiet after Tommy and Renee left. He hoped Renee's comment about the distance wasn’t weighing on her.

"You're leaving," she answered honestly. It was as if it hit her all of a sudden. "I know we can't stop it from happening, but there are just so many changes coming at once that I feel a bit overwhelmed."

Oliver nodded as he listened to her intently. 

"We haven't really talked about us. We've kind of glossed over it as to try and act like it's not a huge deal. Coupled with the fact that Tommy and Laurel decided to go ahead and end their relationship because of the impending distance and I'm just...I'm kind of scared Oliver," she admitted. 

"That's Tommy and Laurel. That's not us," he tried to reason with her. 

"And that's what scares me the most," she sighed. She dropped her eyes down as she began picking at the paint on her nails. "Everyone sees us as this indestructible force that can't be broken, but what if we can't make it? What if life has other plans and we fall victim to them?"

She and Oliver had been inseparable ever since they became a couple. They had their share of problems and spats over the years, but they always seemed to make it work. Always. 

"I'm scared too," Oliver responded truthfully. 

Felicity looked up over her lashes swiping her hair out of her face. "You...you are," she asked. "About what?"

"Everything." He took her hand in his holding it tightly. "I'm going to a school where I'm not seen as the star player at anymore. I'm essentially starting from scratch. I'm leaving home, my family and little sister, and you. So yeah I'm freaking out a bit at the moment, but I've been trying to hide it."

Felicity felt a sigh of relief at Oliver's confession. She thought that maybe she had been the one overreacting and 

"But what about when it's time for me to go to school and branch off,” she asked next.

"Felicity, I know that we can't predict the future, but when I think about mines, I see you in it. I do know that we love each other. And if and when problems arise, we will take them on then. Until that time, let’s just stay in the moment. This is good and let’s enjoy it.”

"You're right. I'm sorry for being dramatic." 

"You're not dramatic," he laughed lightly. 

“Oliver, even I know I’m dramatic. It’s okay,” she laughed. “Let me show you how dramatic I can be.”

Felicity took off her seatbelt and promptly climbed into Oliver's lap surprising him. 

"Felicity..."

His words were cut off as Felicity settled on his lap crashing her lips against his.  Whatever he was about to say was soon long forgotten as she kissed him senseless. He brought his hands up grabbing ahold of her waist. Felicity's hands fumbled with the buttons on Oliver's shirt until she finally popped each one. Oliver shoved the spaghetti straps down her arms taking her bra straps along with them. He kissed her shoulders nipping along the way. 

"Felicity." He gritted her name. "Are you serious?"

"Very much so. We didn't get to finish what we started yesterday."  

His hips jerked up as her tongue ran along the pulse point on his neck. She bit down softly as her hands fumbled with his shirt trying to rid him of it. Nothing was getting accomplished because it was as if their lips were focused on tasting the other. 

Their bodies contorted in pleasure as they moved against the seat. Oliver's knee inadvertently hit the car horn and it blared out loudly. They stilled against each other staring at the other for a moment before busting into a fit of laughter. "Curse you and your sports car," Felicity grumbled. 

"I have an idea." He nodded towards the backseat. 

She looked back over the backseat that was now thankfully empty. She tried to imagine how they would make this work. "Will you be able to fit? I mean you're not exactly small."

"I know," he smugly said. 

She rolled her eyes as she swiped at his chest. "You know what I meant."

"Trust me, I can make it work. You go first."

Felicity promptly climbed over the seat and took her place in the corner and she slid down waiting for Oliver. He exited the car and walked around the other side and climbed in. 

Felicity motioned for him to take his shirt off and he quickly followed her instructions tossing it over the seat. Felicity left one foot on the floor and rested the other against the seat and Oliver positioned himself between her legs. 

His hands ran under her dress searching for her panties. "Already taken care of," she said. She held them up and dropped them to the floor. 

"Naughty? I like it," he said letting out a turned on growl as his hands flew down to his waist quickly unsnapping his pants. Felicity helped him shove them down just enough to free him. 

Wasting no time, Oliver laid atop of her swiftly entering her sweet opening. Felicity sighed contently as Oliver began to fill her. The feel of him stretching her along the way felt just as amazing as always. 

Oliver started a slow rhythm drawing out his strokes. He peppered kisses across her collarbone and neck as her head went back in pleasure.

Oliver’s stroke gained speed as she cried out his name. He grunted her name into his skin as his fingers dug into her hips.

She felt her leg tiring and Oliver did as well. He grabbed it throwing it around his back and holding on tight just as he pulled out and delved as deep as he could. The power of the thrust sent her backward and her head knocked into the door from the impact. 

"Ow," she hissed grabbing her head. She laughed at their clumsiness.

"You okay," Oliver asked. He swallowed his laugh trying to show concern.

"Yeah," she reassured him. 

Oliver pulled out of her completely much to Felicity's annoyance. "Oliver, I'm fine. I..." 

He grabbed her hips and pulled her down a little further. Her words turned into moans as Oliver delved inside her again. She held onto his shoulders as Oliver went deeper. Her hands smoothed over his shoulder and down his back trying to grip along the way. 

He kissed her open mouth slipping his tongue through her lips. Felicity sucked down relishing in the taste of her boyfriend. 

She felt herself being sent into overdrive with each thrust Oliver sent into her. Pretty soon, the dam was threatening to break. "I’m close,” she whispered into his neck.

Oliver nodded because he was pretty close himself. He slowed his strokes down drawing out her pleasure. He stilled inside her as she held onto his back coming down off their brief high. He pressed a satisfied kiss to her puckered lips before pulling out of her. Her leg dropped back down to the seat as the feeling started circulating in it again.

“How was that," he asked. He sat up with a proud smile across his lips. He knew his body would be aching the next morning probably from the way he had been cramped up. And even though, it was what they would consider a quickie, it was well worth it.

Oliver handed her the long discarded panties and she slipped them on. She pushed herself up right as her dress fell into place. He began fasting his pants up as Felicity ran a hand over her wild hair. 

She wrapped her arm around his neck pulling him into one last kiss. "It was a perfect fit."

<\---->

"Who is that," Felicity asked out loud as Oliver pulled up to her place. There was a car she didn't recognize parked beside her mother's.

"Want me to come in with you," Oliver asked.

"No, it's probably just one of my mom's coworkers or friends." She unhooked her seatbelt and leaned over kissing Oliver's cheek before kissing his lips tenderly. "Plus, I'm kind of tired after today's activities," she whispered against his lips."

Oliver huffed a proud laugh as Felicity peppered kisses along his jaw. Her grabbed her face stilling her. "Hey, you sure you're okay," he asked. His thumbs brushed across her cheeks as he searched her eyes.

"I am," she nodded. "Thanks for being you." She pressed a kiss against the tip of his nose. "I love you."

"And I love you too," he said.

Felicity told Oliver goodnight once more as he said he would make sure to let her know when he got home. After the time spent with Oliver, she tucked away all of the thoughts and fears that had been tap dancing on her brain for months as she stuck her key into the hole.

"Mom, I'm home," she called out as she opened the door.

Donna's excited feet brought her into the living room. "Felicity, sweetie..."

"Hey mom," she said as she walked further inside. She closed the door behind her not paying any attention to the other guest in the apartment or the way her mother was acting. She turned around and her mother was right up in her space.

"Mom, I wasn't gone that long," she laughed taking a step back. She dropped her keys into her purse and leaned down kissing her mother's cheek. "By the way, Oliver's dorm room is amazing," she said.

"Felicity," Donna called her name again.

Felicity could feel a weird energy bouncing off of Donna. "Mom, what is it?"

Before Donna could answer, Felicity heard the sound of footprints against the floor and she looked up to see someone gracing the entranceway.

"Hello Felicity," the person said.

Felicity blinked a couple of times and looked back at her mother who was standing quietly beside her. She looked up again, her eyes widened trying to register just who she was looking at. As the familiar face started forming in her mind along with memories that she tried to bury and leave tucked away, this unknown and unwanted feeling crept into her chest.

"Dad?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I made up Oliver's college and I will be definitely playing with the location and geography of some places. 
> 
> Thoughts???


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Sorry about the wait. Even though this story is planned out and outlined, I kind of struggled with exactly how to get to this next point specifically, but here it is! Happy reading!

It was as if time had stood still. Everyone was quiet and no one dared to make a sudden move. Felicity was literally frozen to floor with her mouth agape. She looked at her mother with unsure eyes and then back to her...father.

"Hi baby girl." He made the first move taking a two towards her. She immediately moved back keeping the space between them. Baby girl. She hadn't heard that name since he left.

"What..." Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to process what was happening. "What are you doing here?" She turned to Donna who was still in the same position. "Mom, what is he doing here," she asked her.

"Felicity, sweetie." Her mother came up grabbing her arms. "Just calm down okay."

She pulled away from Donna. "Calm down? What do you mean calm down?" She let out a laugh of disbelief as she looked back at Noah. He had stepped back and leaned against the wall watching them quietly. "Is this really happening right now? I haven't seen you since I was a child and you want to come back suddenly calling me baby girl like everything is okay."

"I just want to talk," he said. "That's all."

"About what? It's been years and now you just want to talk. What do we have to talk about?"

Nothing but silence came from him in response.

"Exactly." Felicity pushed her mother's hands away from her. "Mom, how could you?" It felt like the walls were closing in on her, she needed to get away. Felicity brushed past her mother and headed straight for her room.

"Well that went almost as terrible as I imagined." Donna slid down on the couch heavily sighing. She knew she should've warned Felicity, but if she did it was a good chance she wouldn't have even showed.

"Maybe I should've called ahead," Noah said quietly.

"Maybe," Donna shrugged. "You're just going to have to give her some time."

"How much time?"

"I don't know Noah. How about ten years," Donna shot back. Ten years ago he walked out and ten years ago Felicity's heart was broken. "You left us both. I got over it, but she still hasn't. You're her father and you said that you didn't care about her. That's how she sees it. I'll talk to her, but I'm not making you any promises."

****

Felicity sat in Oliver's bed between his legs. His arms were wrapped around her and they had been just sitting in dark quietness the entire time. After closing herself off in her room, until Noah left, Felicity called Oliver. Before she could even explain what happened, he knew something was wrong. Despite her mother's protests, Oliver came to pick her up. She hopped in his car and explained everything. Then she sought solace in his room with his arms wrapped around her. His parents and Thea were out, so it was just the two of them.

"Do you think I'm being too hard on her," she asked quietly. Her mother had been calling her all night and texting her. Felicity declined every one. She just couldn't do it. She didn't know what to say to her.

"I think you're entitled to feel whatever you're feeling."

Felicity looked up at Oliver giving him a sad smile. "Thanks for listening."

He titled his head down pressing his lips against hers. "You're welcome."

Felicity enclosed her hand in Oliver's slipping her fingers through his. "You're lucky you know," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Your family is literally perfection."

"We're definitely not perfect," he countered.

"Perfect in my eyes. Mother and father. They're married to each other and love one another. You have an awesome little sister. If that's not close to perfect, I don't know what is."

"My parents fight. We all have fights, trust me. Also I'm pretty sure I annoy Thea a little more each day as she gets older."

"But that's what families are supposed to do," she said. "Fight, work through their problems, all while loving each other. My dad didn't even give us the chance to do that, he just bolted off the first moment he got."

Even the Lances had a great family dynamic. Tommy was the only exception in their group and that's because Rebecca died leaving a hole in the Merlyn household.

"I understand divorces and couples not being able to work out, but shouldn't you want to stay for your child?"

"Perfect is overrated. Sometimes staying isn't always the best option. Sometimes that makes the situation even worse."

Felicity quietly contemplated what Oliver said. He had a point. Maybe Noah leaving turned out to be the best, who knows how her life would've turned out. "I see what you're saying. If he had stayed, his apparent unhappiness would've seeped into our home. And maybe if he had stayed, you and I would've never met," she added.

"I didn't exactly mean that," Oliver laughed. "But hey, I'll take it."

Felicity turned in his arms and pressed a hungry kiss on his lips. "Thank you."

"You don't have to say that. You know I love you and I'm here for you. Even though I have to head back to school in a couple of days, we can stay locked up in here as long as your heart desires."

"Maybe I'll just move into your room while you're away."

"My parents might not be too pleased, but I'm sure Thea would be more than thrilled with that," he joked.

****

"Oliver Jonas Queen!"

Moira's voice rang throughout the mansion as she stood in his doorway staring at him and Felicity. Felicity was laying under his covers as he stood over her in sweats pulling a shirt on. 

Oliver's head snapped towards his cracked door where his mother stood with bulging eyes. He quickly ran to the door to try and calm her down. 

"What is going on in here? Oliver, your sister is right down the hall. I expect better from you."

"What about me?" The nine-year-old Thea appeared next in the hallway peeking her head through the door. Her eyes widened as she noticed Felicity trying to hide her reddening face.

"It's not what you think," Oliver quickly said. He smushed his hand into Thea's face pushing her back. He walked out quickly closed the door. 

"What's going on," Thea asked. 

"Thea...," Moira called in that warning tone. 

"I know. Go to my room." Thea turned around and huffed all the way to her bedroom. 

Moira turned back to her son, dropping her hands on her hips. "Oliver, I know you're pretty much an adult now and will be on your own soon, but we still have house rules that need to be respected."

"Mom, just let me explain." He sighed into his hands. Moira's pointed eyes stared deep into him as she waited. "Felicity's dad came back." 

"What," Moira was confused. 

"You know the situation with her dad," he explained. "He came back last night it stirred up all those old memories for her. She was upset, so I went and picked her up. I wanted to be there for her, so we just talked last night and we eventually fell asleep." They didn't wake up until about twenty minutes ago. Felicity immediately freaked out and wanted to leave. She was in the process of trying to figure out how to sneak out when Moira walked in. 

"Nothing happened mom, I promise."

Moira's stance softened listening to Oliver's explanation. "How is she doing," Moira asked. 

"She's alright," he shrugged. "Confused, upset and angry."

Moira sighed. Oliver could see her revolve softening. She crossed her arms thinking for a moment. "Did he say what he wanted," she asked. 

Before Oliver could answer, Oliver's door opened and Felicity walked out fully clothed. "Hey Mrs. Queen," she said softly. "Sorry about what you walked in on. Nothing happened, I would never disrespect your home like that and..."

Moira waved Felicity's apology off. "It's okay, Oliver explained everything. Come here sweetie." Moira opened her arms and Felicity walked into them. Moira hugged her tightly. Felicity relaxed into Moira's motherly hug. 

"Does your mother know you're here," Moira asked. 

"No. I haven't exactly talked to her."

"I'll give your mother a call and let her know you're alright and with us. Why don't you head downstairs and have some breakfast?"

Felicity sat to the kitchen table as Raisa placed a plate filled with deliciousness in front of her. Thea came sliding into the kitchen and hopped in the spot next to Felicity.  

"Speedy, you're a little slow today aren't you. I almost got all the pancakes," Oliver joked. 

Thea rolled her eyes at her brother before turning to Felicity. "Are you okay," Thea asked her cautiously. "I saw you crying? Did Ollie do it?" She shot Oliver a warning glare across the table. 

"No, he didn't," Felicity answered with a laugh. "Thanks for having my back though."

"You're welcome." 

"Great to see where your loyalties lie," Oliver said throwing his paper towel at Thea. 

* * *

Felicity absentmindedly flipped through the television. There was a quiet knock on her bedroom door and she immediately knew it was her mother. "Yes?"

The door slowly opened and her mother entered. "Is it safe?" Donna held a glass of warm milk in her hand. 

"As long you don't have any more surprise guests with you," she mumbled against the pillow. 

Donna sat down on the bed beside Felicity. "So, you're still mad at me?"

Felicity scooted over giving her mother more room in the bed. She took the glass and snuggled into Donna's side. "Sorry mom," she quickly apologized. "I wasn't technically angry at you." She took a sip of the warm liquid remembering all the times Donna used this to cheer her up growing up. "I just felt ambushed."

"I see now that we could've handled things better and I'm sorry for that." Donna began playing in Felicity's hair dragging her fingers through it. "I'm also sorry you didn't have your father growing up."

"Mom, it's not your fault. I never blamed you for him leaving. Even as a child, I never did. The blame always lied solely on him."

"You were always so smart even as a child."

Felicity sat the finished off glass on her nightstand and wrapped her arms around her mother. "I got it from you," she smiled. 

Donna kissed Felicity's hair. "He's still in town you know," Donna said. 

"What does he want?"

"To just talk."

Felicity looked up at her. "You think I should go don't you."

"I think you owe it to yourself to go. If you don’t, there’s a chance you will always question if you should've. Your father and I are completely over, but there's always a chance that you and him can salvage something. You don't have to forgive him, but you can and should get answers."

"Good point," Felicity replied. "I'll think on it."

* * *

 

"Thanks for coming with me Sara." Felicity sat in Big Belly Burger with Sara across from her. She had finally agreed to meet with Noah. It took some time for her to come to that decision and a lot of talking with herself. 

"That's what besties are for," Sara replied with a comforting smile.   

Felicity played with the collar of Oliver's blue jean jacket. She desperately wished that he was there. Don't get her wrong, she was more than thankful that Sara was with her, but her boyfriend seemed to make everything better. 

"What did Ollie say," Sara asked, as if she read her mind. 

"That he supports whatever decision I come to."

"Such an Oliver like answer," Sara laughed. 

"Yeah. He's been great through it all. Even though we haven't talked as much lately with him being so busy on campus, it's good to know I have his support."

"You sure you want to do this," Sara asked next. 

Felicity nodded. "I thought I didn't. But with the way my mind works, I know if I don't, it's going to nag at me. So, I'm going to just rip the band aid off."

Behind Sara, Felicity could see the moment Noah entered the place. She froze in her seat as Sara continued to talk. 

"Hello." He spoke to them both. Felicity was still rendered speechless as Sara just stared at the unknown man she had heard so much about. 

He cleared his throat trying to break the awkward silence as Sara finally jumped to her feet. 

"Hi," Sara waved sheepishly. "Bye." She hurried off and went to find a booth in the far back away from them. 

Noah stood awkwardly at the table. He rubbed his hands on his jeans as he stared down at Felicity. He eventually slid into Sara's now vacated seat. 

"Did you uh...do you want to order something," she asked. "The burgers are really good here."

"Sure," he nodded. A young waitress made her way over to take their orders. Felicity just got an order of fries and a vanilla milkshake, while Noah opted for the deluxe combo. 

They sat in complete silence as the restaurant bustled around them. Neither one knew how to start the conversation off. They just gave each other uncomfortable glances and ate in silence. 

Noah finally found an angle to jumpstart a conversation. "So, your mother said that you and the Queen kid have been together since you were fifteen."

"Yep," she confirmed. 

"Does he treat you well? You get along with his family?"

Felicity nodded at both questions. She avoided eye contact playing with the straw in her glass.  

"Good. I'm glad you've found a good boyfriend. You deserve it."

Felicity rolled her eyes. What could he possibly know about what she deserved? He barely knew her at all. 

"So," he started again searching for another topic. "Your senior year? Are you ready?"

Felicity shrugged stuffing a fry in her mouth. "I mean I guess."

"How are applications going?"

"I haven't started yet," she told him much to his surprise. 

"As smart as you are, I figured you would have gotten a head start on everything."

"Nope. Not quite. Don't want to rush into anything."

They ate in silence. Felicity picked at her basket of fries as Noah took bites of his burger. 

"Good burger," he offered into thin air. 

Felicity leaned against her wrist as she munched on the ketchup dipped fry. She couldn't look more disinterested and annoyed if she tried. 

"Felicity, I hope you know that I'm proud of you," he offered. 

"You're proud of me. I deserve the best. You're saying these things as if you know me. You don't okay. You don't know anything about me that my mother didn't give you a cliff notes version of, but I'm supposed to think that you have my best interests at heart. If you did, you never would've left me in the deep of the night."

"Listen, I know you're upset and you have every right to be."

"Why now?" That was the first question she asked him. Why did he feel this was the appropriate time to make an appearance after so long? 

"I wrestled with whether I should come or stay away. I missed so much I wanted to see if there was a slim chance that I could be here for even just a bit of it."

"You're acting like this situation is small," she laughed in disbelief. "I mean you've been gone. How could you just leave us? What type of person just leaves and doesn't look back? For ten years."

A simple divorce with shared custody or visiting rights would've sufficed. Families did it all the time. She would've taken that option over what she got a million times over. 

"I took the coward's way out. I ran. I knew if I looked in your eyes, I wouldn't have left."

"But why? Why did you?"

"I don't have an answer as to why. Not an answer that will make you happy. Your mother and I were miserable together. We had been for years. Even before you came along, we weren't happy. We had been together so long that we figured, hey it can't get any better or worse than this. When we learned about you, we tried to make it work. For years we tried to build the family you desperately deserved. You saw two happy parents, but that was the farthest from the truth. We fought all the time, we just shielded it from you. Your mother was very unhappy."

"Yeah, but she stayed. You bolted."

"I really tried Felicity and what I thought was the best ended up being the worst decision I ever made."

"You left her to be a single mother, to raise me on her own. You didn't care about her or me."

"I did care. That's why I left. I knew if I stayed, I would only taint the good things in you."

"How can you possibly think that leaving the way you did was the best decision?"

"It wasn't and for that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the hurt and pain I caused you. I'm sorry for everything." Noah's hand came down on hers and he squeezed it gently. "You are the best thing that your mother and I accomplished. The best thing that I ever did in this life of mines. You're beautiful, smart and caring. I know I have a lot of work and begging to do. And I missed so much and so many milestones in your life that I want to be here for the rest of them. That's only if you'll have me."

Felicity pulled her hand back. She wiped at the unshed tears in her eyes. She hated that she was still so emotional over this. Pushing her trash away, she stood to her feet. 

"Felicity." He stood up with her. "Will you say something?" 

Felicity shrugged as Sara got up with her and made her way to the door. "Listen, I don't know. I just...I need to work through this on my own. I need time, alright." Too much was happening at once and it was an emotional overload. 

Noah reached out to stop her briefly. He placed a surprising kiss on her cheek. "Take all the time you need. And if you're ever ready, I'll be here."

Felicity nodded and bolted for the door. 

****

Felicity was at home and Oliver was miles away at school. Everything was just a whole lot of suck currently. She missed him. Missed him a lot. She picked up her cell and quickly went to his name. Oliver picked up just as she was about to hang up. There was a bit of a pause on the other end. She could hear a group of guys laughing before Oliver finally said hello. 

"Oliver," Felicity called his name not able to hear him clearly. 

Shuffling noises went on before he spoke again. 

"Felicity? Hey."

"Are you busy," she asked. 

"No. Talk to me."

As Felicity began talking, she could hear another voice which sounded like the Rene guy. "Oliver, you better hurry. I think Tommy just took your turn."

"Tell Tommy I'm going to beat his ass." Oliver said before turning back to the phone. "What were you saying Felicity?"

"You know what, that's okay. I'll just talk to you later."

"What? No. I'm here. What’s going on?"

"No really Oliver, it's okay. You're with friends and it sounds like you're having a good time. We can talk later." He deserved to have time to himself and not have her drama in his ear constantly. After all he was at college now, couldn't be at her beck and call every minute of the day. 

"You sure?"

"Yeah, positive."

Oliver hesitated for a moment. "Alright. I'll talk to you later then babe," he said. "Love you."

"Love you too," she said as his phone clicked.

She dropped the phone to the bed and plopped down on the pillow behind her. She sighed heavily feeling a mixture of emotions swirling around in her. So much was happening in her life at once that she felt like she couldn't keep up or even begin to get a handle on everything. 

Spread out next to her were college recruitment letters trying to gauge her interest for their specific programs. The one on top of the pile was the one that held the most implications. MIT. 


	13. Chapter 13

"Am I in trouble," Felicity immediately asked as she entered Lyla Michaels office. She didn't think she had engaged in any hacking lately, so there was no reason to get called into the office. 

"No, I'm not the principal." She laughed lightly as she stood up from behind her desk and pointed to the chair opposite it. "Have a seat." She walked around and closed the door behind Felicity. 

Felicity dropped down in the seat. She let out a sigh of relief as the tension rolled off her back. She relaxed in the chair releasing her bag from the death grip she had on it. Getting in trouble her senior year wouldn't exactly be ideal. 

"I like to check in with students periodically, but I wanted to check in with you especially."

"Me? Why?"

"I noticed that you haven't applied for college yet. I thought you would be one of the first to apply."

"Oh. Well." Felicity didn't know how to exactly explain herself. 

Counselor Michaels sat down in her broad black leather chair. "Is there something going on?"

Yes, something was going on. Everything was spiraling faster than she could handle. 

"Honestly?"

"Yes," Lyla laughed. "I prefer honesty."

"I have a lot going on in my personal life," she started. "My absentee father has returned and expects a relationship. My boyfriend is miles away busy with college and baseball, so we don't talk as much anymore. I have to decide where I'm going to spend the next four years of my life. Four years that will set me on a path that can either make or break me." She took a deep breath finishing her spill. 

"Okay." Lyla took all of that in trying to determine where exactly to start. "You mentioned your father, how long has he been back?"

"A couple of weeks I think," she shrugged. 

"How does that make you feel?"

Felicity sat back getting comfortable. "Confused. I mean how am I supposed to just accept him in my life after so many years? I used to long for a father, so should I give him another chance or do I stay angry at him because of what he did."

Lyla nodded intently listening to Felicity let everything out. "And Oliver and applying to school is that linked?"

"Wow," Felicity whispered. "You're good."

"Kind of have to be to have this job for so long."

"But yeah. My top choice is far away from Starling and even farther away from Oliver. Instead of getting closer to one another after I graduate, we will be growing apart more."

"I've known Oliver longer than you and I've known you two together since John found the two of you under the bleachers three years ago."

Felicity remembered that day very vividly. They were under the bleachers making out...only making out thankfully. John found them because Oliver was supposed to be at practice. They ended up with in school suspension and a trip to one Lyla Michaels office for a safe sex talk. 

"Definitely not one of our proudest moments," Felicity grimaced. 

"I will give you this piece of advice, Oliver is at the college of his dreams, so you deserve that chance as well. The both of you are great young adults. This is just another step in your lives, but to get through it you will have to talk to each other."

"I know," Felicity sighed. "Listen, I'm normally put together and on top of things. I think all of these things combined have sort of thrown me off my game."

"A lot of changes at once can cause you to freak out. That's completely understandable Felicity. It can be hard when change happens. A lot of seniors go through this, so trust me you're not the first one to be scared."

"For me personally, I went through life feeling sort of left out and like an outsider because of my smarts. I got here and it was like I had finally found my home and where I belonged. I found a group of people that welcomed me. We got each other. We were always there for each other."

The four of them. Felicity, Oliver, Sara, Tommy and Laurel. They were a tight knit group and loved each other. It wasn't often that you found a group of friends that you felt like you would have for life.

"One by one we're breaking up. Tommy and Laurel already ended things. She's away at law school and Tommy's on the other side with Oliver. Oliver is in the middle of training, and it's a miracle if we can even text each other goodnight some days. Now it's just me and Sara, but we'll be breaking up soon too. It's just utterly depressing." She sighed and slumped over on Lyla's desk. 

Lyla got up and walked over to Felicity. She dropped a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

"Ignoring it won't make things any better," Lyla told her. "You have to take the first step. Whether it's actually applying for your school, deciding what to do with your dad or talking to Oliver. Once you take that first plunge, everything else will slowly fall into line."

<\---->

"Felicity!"

Felicity jumped at the sound of Sara loudly calling her name. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

They were sitting in Sara's room after school. Sara laid across the foot of the bed as she sat at the head. They had been talking for the last fifteen minutes with Sara doing most of the talking, Felicity's mind was occupied elsewhere. 

"Okay. What's wrong," Sara asked. 

"Nothing." Felicity stirred her spoon around her yogurt and went back to staring off into space. 

"Really? You've been relatively quiet all day. You didn't even answer one question during class, so I know something is bothering you. What is it?"

"Nothing," she said again. 

"Best friend here," Sara pointed to herself. She pushed herself up on the bed. "I have a something is wrong radar for you. Now spill."

Felicity reached in her bag and pulled out the open letter from MIT. She handed it over to Sara letting her read it. 

"Felicity, this is great," she exclaimed. "MIT is your dream."

"Yeah," she nodded. 

"But," Sara questioned. There was definitely a but hanging in the air. "Does this hesitation have to do with Oliver?" She gave Felicity a knowing look before continuing. "Felicity, I love you, I love Oliver and I love you two together, but the truth is, you can't put your life on hold for him. Honestly, he wouldn't want you to."

"Stop making sense," Felicity grumbled. "Counselor Michaels said the same thing."

"That's because it's the truth. What has Oliver said?" She handed Felicity her letter back. 

"I haven't exactly told him yet." Felicity stuffed the letter down in her bag. 

"What," Sara shrieked. "Why not?"

"I don't know what to say to him. How do I say there's going to be a good chance we will be even farther away? He’s in the middle of training right now anyway."

"Felicity..." Sara threw a comforting arm around her shoulder pulling her into a hug. "You can't keep this from him. He's there under the impression that the two of you are fine. That's not fair to you or him. And you're not really giving Oliver enough credit here, he's always been understanding when it comes to you."

Felicity ran her hands threw her hair feeling stressed. "Do I really have to tell him now, when I'm not even sure I want to still go."

"How do you know you don't want to go? You haven't even visited the campus. You're folding before you even look at the cards," Sara shot back at her. "Stop it."

"I'm going to tell him...eventually. I just want to make sure I'm 100% sure when I do."

"So you're going on the tour?"

Felicity shrugged shoving the spoon in her mouth. Maybe if she ate, Sara would quit questioning her. 

"Alright, that's it." Sara stood up closing their books. She ripped the yogurt from Felicity's hands, pulled the spoon out of her mouth and tossed them both in the trash. "Get up." She grabbed her arm pulling her up to her feet.

"Sara! What are you..." Felicity tried to pull back but was no match for Sara's strength.

"We need to pack. You and I are going to MIT. Road trip time."

* * *

"Smoaky is here!" Tommy exclaimed with excitement as he opened the door revealing Felicity. Sara poked her head over Felicity's shoulder giving a slight wave. "And the younger Lance," he deadpanned. 

"Hello to you too Merlyn." Sara pushed him out of the way pulling Felicity inside. "Queen, I present your girlfriend to you."

"Hi," Felicity smiled and walked up to him. 

Oliver hugged her tightly not wasting anytime to kiss her lips. "This is a nice surprise," he whispered against her lips. 

Felicity cradled Oliver's face not wanting to relinquish the kiss. She missed him, so she kissed him hard channeling every part of herself.

Sara loudly cleared her throat behind them.   
Oliver pulled away wiping at his lips as Felicity tucked her head in his shoulder. 

"What brought on this surprise," Oliver asked. 

Tommy huffed a laugh. Clearly someone was a little..." 

Sara punched him in the shoulder before the word horny could dare leave his lips. 

"Ow," he exaggerated rubbing the spot. 

"We were..."

"A girl just needs her boyfriend," Felicity cut Sara off. No need to say that she went to go visit her potential college, fell completely in love with it and decided to take an extended detour to come and break the news to him.

"That's right," Sara said catching Felicity's glaring eye. "She just missed you so much and I could only deal with her whining for so long."

Felicity silently thanked her for not spilling anything. She didn't want to discuss college or anything just yet, she only wanted to wrap herself in her boyfriend. 

Sara caught Felicity's drift and knew that it was best to make herself and Tommy scarce. "Well," she loudly projected her voice. "I have a fake ID and I'm in a college town, so that means that I want to have some fun. Merlyn you're up."

"Welp." Tommy grabbed his jacket. "You don't have to tell me twice. I'll make sure this one here doesn't get into too much trouble, while you two do." He turned Sara towards the door pushing her out. 

"Bring my best friend back in one piece," Felicity yelled behind their retreating figures. 

The sound of the door closed leaving the two of them alone. Felicity turned to Oliver with a hooded smile dropping her bag to the floor. Oliver walked up to her with the same look. He wrapped one arm around Felicity's waist pulling her against him as his other hand flew up to her hair freeing it from the ponytail. Her hair fell down as he leaned in kissing the bent of her neck. Felicity melted in his arms as her eyes fluttered shut at his touch. 

"I missed you so damn much." He turned her towards the bed as she wrapped his arms around his neck effectively pulling them both on the bed. 

"Woah." They both laughed as they fell tangling with one another. Oliver quickly regained his composure as Felicity hiked her legs around him. He began running his fingers along her thighs. "You know I love when you wear dresses."

"No, I don't think I do," she laughed. "Will you show me?"

“That’s the plan.”

<\---->

Felicity rested against Oliver as his hand rested on his favorite spot...her butt. She smiled contently with the feel of him surrounding her. She relished in his kisses, exploring their bodies again. She listened to him talk with his voice like music to her ears. He talked about his course load. He griped about the intense training the coach had them under. He relayed tales and jokes, mostly at the expense of Tommy. 

By a miracle, she had effectively dodged all talks around the topic of college for her. She wanted to talk to him and tell him, but she didn't know how to start it. How could she tell him that she visited MIT and fell madly in love with the place. The place that was miles away from him. 

At some point in the night, she had decided to hold it off again. She was going to wait; for what exactly, she didn’t know. But, there was no need to disrupt the perfect weekend rendezvous they had. 

"I guess I should get a shower before Tommy and Sara get back," she pouted. The impending departure was looming. 

She pushed against his chest with Oliver only budging a bit. His hands didn't move at all. "Oliver, you're going to have to let my butt cheek go."

"What if I don't want to," he joked. 

"I don't want you to either, but you have to." She pressed a kiss to his lips. 

Oliver swiped his tongue against her lips getting one last squeeze in before slapping his palm against her butt with a mischievous grin. 

"Oliver..."

"I'm done." He held his hands up surrendering. "Unless you want me to join you in the shower. That's always an option."

Felicity finally peeled herself away from him. She stripped out of her sweatshirt leaving herself standing in a sports bra. Oliver’s eyes bulged as he reached for her again. "No,” Felicity knocked his hands away. “We've practically been hogging your dorm room all weekend. Sara and Tommy are on their way back and I’m supposed to be ready in thirty minutes. I’m sure they don't want to walk in on that particular type of show." She grabbed her bag searching for something suitable to travel in. 

"I wouldn't care," Oliver shrugged. 

Felicity laughed and tossed her sweatshirt into his face. "Down boy," she whispered. 

She managed to dig out an acceptable outfit and her toiletries and dropped the bag to floor. It clipped the side of a chair sending it and all of her contents spilling onto the floor. She groaned and crouched down to clean the mess. 

Oliver hopped off the bed to help her. "I got it for you babe." He began grabbing up her clothes and in the process picked up a sheet of paper that Felicity completely forgot was in there. She realized what it was a second too late. 

"Felicity, what is this," he asked. Oliver slowly stood up reading the paper. His eyes scanned every word as he mouthed MIT to himself. He looked back at her. "What is this," he asked again. 

"It's nothing. It's just an old flyer..." She reached for it as he moved it out the way. 

"It's not nothing Felicity." He read it again You went to visit the school and didn't tell me," he asked. "Is that what this trip was really for?"

"Oliver, will you please just give it back to me." She managed to snatch the paper out of his hand. She bent down and began roughly shoving the flyer and long with everything else back into her bag. Zipping the bag back up, she threw it down in the chair. She could feel Oliver's eyes barreling down on her awaiting an answer. 

"Felicity," he walked up to her. "Will you just look at me?"

She finally looked at as he stared at her. His eyes were wide and expectant. This was the absolute worst way she wanted him to find out.  

She wiped at her eyes before propping them on her hips. "Yes, I went to MIT." Her voice broke as she finally gave him the answer he sought. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the last chapter of part one. Enjoy.

Oliver stared at his girlfriend feeling the pang of hurt. He wasn't hurt that she was potentially going to school far away, but hurt that she felt that she couldn't confined in him or that she needed to keep it a secret like it was something to be ashamed of. 

"Why didn't you tell me," he asked. 

Felicity looked at Oliver as he stared at her. She didn't have a good answer for him. 

"I don't know," she shrugged. 

"You don't know?” He dropped his hands in disbelief. “Come on Felicity there has to be a reason why."

"I don't have an answer,” she said again.

"You don't have an answer because it doesn't make sense. Did you think all of a sudden I wouldn't support you? When have I ever not supported you Felicity?"

"I know. You always have. I think I just.... I freaked.

She dropped back down on his bed trying to gather the thoughts swirling around.

“Did you doubt me? Us? Not trust me, what?” He was trying to find a reason as to why she wouldn’t come to him suddenly.

Felicity looked up at him seeing the pain in his eyes and she could hear it in his voice. She realized how foolish she was being and inconsiderate to him.

“Oliver.” She reached for his hand pulling him beside her. “Oliver, no. A million times no. It's not you I doubted or your love." She paused taking a deep breath. She turned to him as he stared at her waiting on a good explanation. "I panicked because so many things were coming at me and changing. I felt overwhelmed, so I reverted back to slinking into my shell and not addressing things. I know it sounds like excuses, but it's the truth.”

Oliver stayed quiet for a moment trying to wrap his mind around everything. He wanted to be upset, but he couldn’t. “Look. I know you had a lot going on with your father showing back up, me leaving and high school coming to an end, but we can always talk. No matter how rough it get talking is always the first step to address things.”

“Why are you always so levelheaded,” she sniffed.

“Come on, don’t be that extreme.” He gave her a small smile as he cradled her hands. “But seriously, if we don’t follow our dreams, we don’t have anything. Tell me your dreams. Come on, I think I need a reminder.”

She began to rattle off her goals she started amassing at a young age. "Going to MIT, studying and potentially working with Harrison Wells, finally running my own division or company one day."

"Exactly. Those have been your dreams for so long that you can’t just let them go because of fear. I was scared when I came here, but I knew I had support. My family, friends and yours. I still get scared at times, but I know I’m supported. Same with you. We support you and more importantly I support you."

Oliver swiped his thumbs across her cheeks collecting the tears as they fell. 

"Felicity, you're amazing,” he continued. “When I first met you the first thing I realized was that you were like no other girl I encountered before. The Felicity Smoak I know is smart and headstrong. That's what attracted me to you. That's what made me fall in love with you."

"Tommy said you told him that it was my butt,” she said in a teary laugh.

Oliver broke into a deep laugh. "Tommy lies a lot, although that was part of it and still is."

She smiled and laughed through the sniffles wiping the streaks from her face. "Thank you." Felicity climbed onto Oliver’s lap pulling him into a hug. “Thank you for being you and for being an amazing boyfriend.” She began peppering kiss all over his face. “My mom will be over the moon when I tell her that MIT is official.”

“I’ll be there on the first day to help you move in. That’s a promise.” Oliver stilled her face pulling her into a deep kiss savoring her lips.

The sound of the door unlocking and Tommy’s voice made them break apart. "Please don't be having sex, we're coming in,” he yelled.

“Felicity, are you ready,” Sara asked pushing past Tommy. “I will honestly strangle Tommy in a second. He’s turned into some form of pseudo older brother and wouldn’t let me do anything.”

Tommy dropped down onto a chair with a satisfied grin.

“Uh.” Felicity looked over herself. She was supposed to have showered and gotten dressed. She climbed out of a reluctant Oliver’s lap. “Time slipped away. Give me ten minutes and then I’m ready. I promise this time.”

Sara walked up to her inspecting her demeanor and the evidence of tears. She glanced between her and Oliver. “Are you guys alright,” she whispered.

“We’re good,” Felicity answered her. “We talked and everything is fine.”

“Okay,” Sara exhaled. “I was worried for a bit.”

“You can use Oliver as a buffer between you and Tommy. I’ll be quick.” Felicity said as she went to the bathroom.

* * *

**_Six months later...._ **

 

"Mom will you please put the camera away and at least help me finish unpacking some of these things?" 

"I'm just trying to capture all the moments," Donna responded. 

Felicity shook her head with a laugh. Donna had been snapping pictures since they walked in her dorm room. It was between that and having periodic crying outbursts and saying, oh my baby is all grown up. 

"Felicity, what is in this thing?" Oliver dragged the heavy black suitcase in her room and dropped it in the middle of the floor. It was the last of her bags. 

"Hair and makeup essentials," she answered after glancing at it. 

"Seriously? How much could you possibly need?" Oliver stood up out of breath. He began massaging his shoulder. "If I tear my rotator cuff or something, I'm telling coach you're the reason our season will be doomed."

Felicity laughed as she walked up cradling his face. "You're the best," she whispered planting a kiss on his lips. 

The sound of camera lens immediately went off behind them. 

"Mom!" 

"I'm sorry," Donna exclaimed. "It's just that you guys are adorable." She finally put the camera away slipping it back into her purse. "I think we deserve food now. I'll give you two a minute alone. You can find me downstairs when you're ready. Don't take too long, I know how the two of you get when you're by yourselves."

"Mom!" Felicity lost count of how many times she yelled that. 

Oliver laughed at the horrified expression on Felicity's face. Donna walked out closing the door behind her. Once they were alone, Oliver slipped his arm around her waist bringing her down to one of the few vacant spots on the bed.

"We’ve been together so long, and I'm still not used to your mother's inappropriateness. I don't think I ever will be."

"I've been around it 18 years, so trust me you'll never get used to it." Felicity let her legs dangle over Oliver's as she slipped her hand into his clutching onto his fingers. 

"How are you feeling," Oliver asked her. 

"Excited. Nervous but excited." After all her out of character second guessing, she finally accepted her excitement. It was deserved and she knew this was the right step for her. "Thank you again for coming today by the way."

"Where else would I be?" He swiped at the stray hairs on her forehead. He brought his hand to her lips kissing her knuckles. "I love you. Even though the miles between us are getting a little longer, my love is still the same."

Felicity smiled feeling tears brim her eyes. "Why do you always know exactly what to say?"

"One of my many gifts," he shrugged. 

Felicity hugged Oliver tucking her head into the crook of his neck. "I love you too." She kissed his chin and rested her head against his shoulder. "As long as we continue to look at this as just the beginning of the next chapter in our lives, we'll be fine." She wiped at the tear that had slipped down her cheek. 

Oliver leaned down and pressed a kiss to her hair.  
"I'm proud of you." He swallowed hard trying not to show any sadness. He promised her that he wouldn't cry because she said if he did it would make her floodgates open. So he just held onto her tightly seeking out her lips. The kiss was hopeful and full of love, but also bittersweet.

She pulled away and rested her forehead against his. "We should go before I start crying and before my lovely mother really thinks we're up here having sex." She tried to move, but Oliver tightened his arms around her waist. 

"I mean if she thinks that." He tucked his head under her chin nibbling at her skin. "We have what? Five minutes?"

"Five minutes? Is that the legacy you want to start here at my new home?”

Oliver snorted a laugh pushing her off his lap. "Okay, you got me there. Let's go. I will return to leave a lasting impact on you and this room. That’s a promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part of this saga is complete. The next part of their journey is coming. No definite date just yet, but it won't be too long. I do have other stories going, so in the meantime, you check those out if you haven't.
> 
> See you guys soon! xoxoxo

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading!
> 
> Follow and chat with me on Tumblr ----> [mindramblingsfics](https://mindramblingsfics.tumblr.com)
> 
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> 
> :) xoxox :)


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